Second Love
by CoMo290
Summary: Vyse and Co. run into a strange former soldier by the name of Dean, and he seems to know something important.
1. Chapter 1

Second Love

Nasrad was a new city since the attack by Valua. After a year and a half the great Bazaar in the heart of Nasrad was finally building back up to its' former glory. Shops had re-opened and merchants returned. The economy was picking back up quickly, due in no small part to generous donations from Enrique, the new Valuan Emperor, who was dead set on atoning for the atrocities committed by his late mother.

The other economic factor that helped rebuild the Bazaar was Vyse the legend. Not only did he save all of Arcadia, but after the Great War he had also graciously donated the majority of his treasures found around the world and much of his plundering from fellow pirates to the Restoration of Nasrad. Any time supplies were needed on their Island, Vyse and his crew made sure to have everything imported from Nasrad. Although Nasrad was the closest port to their Island Base, Vyse would have imported everything from that desert city even if it were on the opposite side of the globe, so long as he knew he was helping rebuild the city.

Never one to have people do work for him that he could easily do himself, Vyse, along with his wife and co-pirate Fina, and best friend Aika, would do most of the necessary shopping themselves. Because of the diversity at the Bazaar, it was often difficult to find everything their ship and base needed at less than three different shops at different places in the Bazaar, so to cover more ground they would divide the list. Aika had realized after the first few visits that they divided the list in a way that required her to spend more time off the ship so that they could have their alone time. Apparently an entire island wasn't enough.

The redhead searched all the shops she could find for the items on her list, many of them she assumed to be made-up. As she continued going over the list, she failed to notice that she was starting to enter a part of the bazaar that was yet to receive any benefits from the boom in the economy, an area which was also frequent to thieves and gangs.

"Why do they always send me after the impossible things?" She muttered to herself. Then she noticed that it had suddenly gotten quiet. She looked up and saw not a single person in either direction. Never one to be afraid of abandoned alley ways, Aika calmly turned around and began heading back the way she came.

"Well well well, what do we have here?" Said a gruff voice. Aika turned behind her to see a tall dark skinned man, probably a Nasrean native, wearing white pants of oddly high quality with a matching vest. "It seems you've wandered into my part of the bazaar. I'm afraid I'll have to be robbing you now." He said.

Aika rolled her eyes, _pirate wannabe_, she thought to herself. "I'm sorry," she started, "I didn't realize I had wandered into the trash heaps, I'll leave you to your refuse now." She said as she continued on her way.

"Why you little-"The man said, drawing a sword.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you Mason," entered another voice. Aika turned to see a well built brunette young man, not much older than she, standing atop a collapsed building with some sort of fruit in hand. "Don't you know? That girl is with Vyse the Legend himself, I sure wouldn't want to make him mad if I were you." He said taking another bite of his fruit.

"Haha good, then I can hold her for a big ransom." Mason replied as he started running towards Aika.

"Alright, but don't say I didn't warn you." The young man said tossing aside the core of his fruit.

As Mason charged Aika stood in place hunching slightly in a defensive stance. Mason and his blade were but inches away when Aika shifted slightly, dodging the sword and at the same time pulling a small knife from within her boot. As Mason stumbled passed her she threw the knife and hit her target directly in the back of his calf muscle causing him to collapse to the ground. He let out a scream of pain as he pulled the knife from his leg tossing it on the ground; he then disappeared back into the debris of the Bazaar.

"Sure does run fast for a guy who just got stabbed in the leg." Said the strange young man.

"Friend of yours?" Aika asked.

"More or less." He replied. "Well just less actually. Most people here in this Bazaar know me whether they like it or not. I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Dean." He said as he extended his hand.

"My name is Aika; it's nice to meet you Dean." She said.

"Likewise. Now then, can I help you with some shopping there?" He said pointing to her list.

"Yeah it would be nice to get some help from a local." She replied handing it to him.

"Alright then, let's see what we've got here." He took a quick glance over the list. "Well here's your problem." He said pointing to one of the items. "I'd be willing to bet my seven years of sailing experience that there's no such thing as bi-polycarbonate gear grease, or bi-polycarbonate anything for that matter. Unfortunately it appears that you have been had."

"Yeah I figured as much." She said a bit embarrassed.

"Well in any case, would you mind if I walked you back to your ship? When Mason gets embarrassed he tends to return with more man power."

"Yeah, that would be great actually."

As the two began heading towards the docks, Aika noticed that many of the local Nasreans were sending somewhat dirty glances in their direction, particularly at Dean who seemed to be accustomed to it. After a fairly uncomfortable twenty minutes, the two arrived at their destination.

"Well Dean it was nice meeting you. Maybe I'll see you again the next time we stop by." Aika said.

"Actually Aika, I was hoping you might do me a favor." He said. "Would it be at all possible for me to join your crew?"

Aika was a bit caught off guard by the request. Usually if someone wanted to join the crew they went to Vyse. In fact if people wanted anything they saw it fit to ask Vyse, Aika had always been a little Jealous of his fame. Nevertheless their new ship was short a few hands and it wouldn't be difficult to pay another salary.

"Well I can't really say for sure." She finally replied. "This sort of thing is really up to the captain, but if you want I can take on the ship and we could talk to him in person."

"That would be great." He said with a smile.

Aika lead Dean to the galley hoping Vyse would be there eating lunch, but much to her dismay he wasn't which meant there was only one other place he could be. Aika approached Emily, the crew's cook.

"Em, have you seen Vyse lately?" Aika asked.

"The last I saw him was about half an hour ago for lunch," she replied, " he was eating with Ms. Fina, and then after that they went back to their room. I could only speculate as to what they're doing in there."

"Please don't." Aika said. "Well Dean I guess we'll just have to wait a bit. In the meantime why don't you have Emily here cook you something to eat."

"No thank you, I'm not too hungry, although it would be great to get something to drink." He replied. Emily nodded and disappeared into the kitchen, then reappearing a moment later with a glass full of a purple liquid. "Thank you." He said as he took the glass.

Aika helped herself to an empty table and motioned for Dean to join her. He took the spot across the table from her. He took a big sip from the glass, the stopped abruptly.

"What is this?" He asked.

"That would be alcohol free Loqua." She replied. "A little while some of the crew got somewhat tipsy, and there was a bit of an accident aboard the ship, so as punishment Vyse is only buying alcohol free for the next few months."

"I see." He replied with a bit of a laugh.

"So Dean," she started, "I couldn't help but notice that as we were walking through the Bazaar, there were quite a few dirty looks shot in your direction. Care to explain?"

"Haha yes I was wondering when you might ask about that. Well let me ask you, what sort of person do you think the Nasreans might hate the most considering the recent past?"

"Just as I though, you're a Valuan soldier."

"Former Valuan solder." He said with extra emphasis on the word former. "A damn good one I might add seemed like I got a new promotion every week. I've even fought you, Vyse, and Fina a couple times too, both on land and in the sky."

Aika started to tense up a bit as he said this which didn't go unnoticed by Dean.

"Haha don't worry, I'm not here for vengeance or anything, and in fact I couldn't be happier you guys took down the monster the Armada turned into. Let me tell you a story. This story is about a boy, his mother, and his younger sister. One day the boy's sister and mother both became very ill, and because he didn't have a father, it was up to him to make money for medical bills. So this boy being as strong as he thought he was joined the glorious Valuan Armada which not only paid well, but was all too happy to cover any medicinal needs. He was first put in First Admiral Alfonso's unit. After a month of standard patrol the First Admiral was sent on a top secret mission that the boy could know nothing about, only that it involved capturing an oddly dressed young woman." Aika began to recognize this story.

"That same night, the ship was also attacked by two pirates, a young man with a cutlass, and a young lady with a very large boomerang. After defeating the Admiral, the two pirates took the young lady with them and let the crew of the ship, including the boy to return home. After being stationed with each of the Admirals at least once I, the boy that is, began to see more of the world and the way Valua was treating it. What he saw disgusted him, but unfortunately he needed the money very badly and there wasn't much he could do."

"Then one day, I was out on another patrol ship," He said abandoning the story format, "when I saw the strangest thing. A continent was rising from the cloud floor. After the continent had finished reassembling itself, I saw an even more curious sight as a strange beam shot from the tower of the continent into the sky, moments later I watched horrified as enormous yellow moonstones began battering my home of Valua. So I, along with a few other loyal soldiers, hijacked an elite vessel and did what we could to aid in the resistance. I returned home as quickly as possible, helping any survivors I could along the way, but when I got to my own home there was nothing but rubble. I never saw my sister or my mother again."

Aika's eyes began tearing up. "I'm so sorry." She said wiping away the moisture.

"Well it's all in the past now." He said. "I just wish I could have been there to help take down that bastard Galcian."

"So what did you do afterwards?"

"Well I took my ship which I had commandeered for the time being and though I would head out to join your crew then. I started running low on and fuel headed for Nasrad, but what was left of the Nasrean fleet blew my ship to bits, so I've been more or less stranded in Nasrad ever since, forced to live in poverty because no one trusted me enough to let me work. I figured one day you and I would run into each other and I could finally get out of that hell hole, which brings me to right now."

"Well Dean I can promise if Vyse says no to you joining right away I can bug him into letting you join with a bit of my persuasiveness, it's just a matter of breaking his spirits." Aika said, trying to lighten the mood.

"Really? Well that would be great, I really appreciate it Aika." He said with a smile. Aika was surprised to find herself blushing.

The two spent the next hour talking about their pasts. They discovered they actually had a pretty fair amount in common with each other. Everything from favorite foods to the loss of their families, the two seemed to be linked together.

"Well Dean," Aika started, "I think it's about time I go see if Vyse is up yet, why don't you wait here?"

"Alright then." He replied.

Aika stood from the table and began heading down the hall towards the captain's quarters. She found herself to be smiling the entire way down. After a short walk she stood outside Vyse and Fina's door, trying to listen for any activity. Luckily for her it was completely silent. She knocked. At first there was no response so she knocked again.

"What is it?" Shouted Vyse from behind the door.

"It's me." She replied. "Could you come out here for a second?"

"What for?"

"Just come here."

Aika could hear some stirring within their room. Then the door opened to reveal a slightly disheveled Vyse. Aika could see Fina still sleeping in their bed.

"What do you need?" Vyse asked, still groggy.

"Well I brought a new crew hopeful aboard, and I thought you could meet with him?"

"Couldn't this have waited?" Vyse asked as he stretched and yawned.

"Well we have been waiting for almost two hours now, and since you guys did send me on that wild goose chase earlier, I figured it's the least you could do."

"Haha alright then, let's me this guy, where is he?" He said now fully awake.

"He's in the galley."

The two walked back down the hallway. Dean stood up as they entered.

"Vyse this is Dean, Dean this is Vyse."Aika said introducing the two.

"It's good to meet you Dean. Aika here says you'd make a pretty decent sailor, care to go over your history with me?"

Dean replayed the story he had just told Aika, making sure to add in all of his sailing and engineering history.

"I see, that's quite the story Dean, I'm really sorry for your loss. I must say you're more than qualified, do you mind if Aika and I step out and discuss this a bit?"

"Not at all." He replied.

Vyse and Aika returned to the hallway out of earshot.

"So what do you think Vyse? Is he in?" Aika asked holding in her excitement.

"I don't know, do you think we can trust him? He's former armada after all."

"Kori and Foster are both former armada, and so far they've been valuable crew members."

"I know, but I can't help but feel like there's something he isn't telling us, and usually I'm right about this sort of thing."

"Vyse just don't worry about it. If anything does happen you can hold me personally responsible."

"Yeah, but what if something happens to you? I'd never forgive myself. And I can tell you're already getting a little too involved in this."

"Vyse don't worry, I'm a big girl, and I can take care of myself. Plus when is the last time you did your old pal Aika a favor?"

"Alright fine, he's in. But I want you to watch him."

"Oh I'll watch him alright." She laughed.

Vyse shook his head and walked back into the galley. "Alright Dean," he said, "You're in."

Dean jumped from the table. "Thank you Vyse, you won't regret this."

"Yeah I sure hope so." He replied, Aika elbowed him in the ribs. "Anyway, is there a particular job you feel suited for?"

"Well I consider myself to be a jack of all trades. I know my away around a boat, I'm a pretty good engineer, I know more than my fair share of cannons, and I'm a halfway decent cook. But I was really hoping I could fight alongside you and the ladies."

"Is that so?" Vyse said skeptically.

"It is indeed."

"Well then, let's see what you've got."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Vyse and Aika waited on the deck of the ship for Dean, who had returned to his hovel to gather his things, after he returned he and Vyse were going to spar a bit to see if he was as capable a fighter as he said. Vyse, having fought many of Valua's supposed finest soldiers, was skeptical to say the least.

Vyse couldn't have picked a hotter day to have this match. There wasn't a cloud in the sky to prevent the sun from beating down; there was however a strong breeze, but that only seemed to stoke the heat. However it wasn't too long before Dean was seen boarding the ship with his very few belongings. Shortly after having boarded, Dean appeared on the deck blade in hand. It was a very elegantly crafted blade, curved like a flame and embedded with red moonstones to match the color with the appearance.

"You ready?" Vyse asked sternly.

"I am when you are." Dean replied coolly.

"Well then, give me everything you've got." Vyse said as he revealed his cutlass and sky fang.

Dean charged Vyse and came at him with a high strike, Vyse easily countered. Dean came at him again, this time trying to go low, Vyse jumped over the blade and delivered a kick directly into Dean's sternum. Dean was knocked to the ground briefly, but recovered and continued with an all out assault. Aika watched intently, so far neither swordsman appeared to have a real advantage over the other. Aika was so involved in the battle she didn't even notice when Fina came topside and stood next to her.

"Um Aika? Who is that man Vyse is fighting? Should we be helping him?" She asked, somewhat worried.

"Huh? Oh Fina, no don't worry, this is just a little sparring match, nothing to worry about." She replied.

"Oh, okay. Who's winning?"

"Well they've been going at it for about ten minutes and so far they seem pretty evenly matched."

"Vyse is holding back." Fina said as she watched her husband's movements.

"How can you tell?" Aika asked with a curious expression.

"Well he is my husband after all and…"

"Never mind. Just never mind."

The battle raged on, neither warrior showing any sign of fatigue. Suddenly Vyse unleashed a flurry of attacks. Dean was somewhat caught off guard at the power and speed of the strikes. Then with one final blow, Vyse knocked Dean's blade right out of his hand, and with another kick knocked him back down to the ground. With a very serious expression, Vyse put the edge of his cutlass directly in front of Dean's throat. Then he smiled and extended his hand.

"Haha looks like I won." He said regaining his usual friendly composure.

"I knew you were powerful," Dean said as Vyse helped him up, "but I had no idea you were that powerful."

"Yeah well when you go through the sorts of things we've been through, you either get stronger or you die, and I'm not ready to keel over just yet."

"So what's the verdict?"

"Well I'm yet to meet someone who can go one on one with me for that long, so I must say that I'm impressed, and I think it would be a great idea to have you fight alongside us." Vyse said as he shook Dean's hand.

Aika smiled when she heard Vyse's verdict. Of course the ever observant Fina also noticed Aika smiling with addition of the new crew member. She put an elbow in Aika's ribs.

"What are you smiling about?" Fina asked slyly.

"Well it's just nice getting a new crew member." Aika replied.

"Right right. Well he is pretty cute, I'll give you that." Fina then approached Vyse.

"Hey did you see my fight?" He asked with a faux cocky attitude.

"Just the part where you won." She replied.

"Well that's the only part that matters." He said as he kissed her.

Dean began approaching Aika, but then his attention seemed to be diverted behind her.

"Foster?" Dean said with a shocked expression on his face. Aika turned to see Foster the head gunner standing behind her.

"Dean?" He replied with the same expression. The two men ran at each other. Aika expecting them to share an embrace was surprised when Foster grabbed Dean in a headlock and wrestled him to the ground. "You big stupid ass, how could you let me go on thinking my best friend has been dead for all this time?"

Dean then escaped the headlock and got Foster's arm behind his back. "I did try you big sorry sack, do you know how hard it is to send out a message that you're alive when you live in a city that wants you dead?"

Foster, escaping the arm lock, turned to face Dean. "Well in any case, it's good to see you again. We really thought we lost you for a while." The two hugged.

"Foster," Aika started, "how do you know Dean?"

"Well me, Dean, and Kori were almost always stationed together after we left boot camp. The three of us were pretty much inseparable."

"Wait," Dean interrupted, "Kori is here too?"

"Yeah he's below deck stocking the guns right."

"Well let's go see that S.O.B.!" Dean shouted. "Aika, Vyse, Fina, thanks for having me. If you don't mind I'm going to go catch up with some friends, let me know if there's anything I can do around here."

"Don't worry," Vyse said, "I'm sure Foster can fill you in on protocol."

"Aye aye captain." Foster responded.

Vyse caught Dean throwing a smile towards Aika, who quickly returned it with a hint of blush in her cheeks.

"Hey Dean," He said, "Before you go, can I have a quick word with you?"

"Sure thing." He replied heading towards Vyse.

Vyse then took him and walked to the opposite side of the deck. "Look Dean, I'm going to be honest, right now I'm putting a lot of faith in you. If it were up to me, we probably wouldn't be having this discussion because you'd still be stuck in Nasrad, and I want you to know that everything I've done for you today; I did because Aika is my best friend and I'm not going to pretend I don't see what's going on between the two of you. Right now there isn't anything else I want other than to see her happy, and if you could be what finally makes her happy, that would be great. But if you put that girl through any more pain than she's already had, I swear on my oath as a Blue Rogue, I will end you. That being said, I hope all my suspicions about you are wrong and I will be keeping an eye on you, but hopefully, everything will work out and the two of us can become friends. Now go catch up with your friends."

Dean remained silent, then nodded his head and met back up with Foster. Vyse turned and faced Aika and Fina who were both giving him very curious looks. He sent one of his boyish smiles in their direction as he headed back towards them, eventually putting an arm around Fina's waist when she was in range.

"Well Fina I don't know about you but I still have some napping left in me, why don't the two of us try to get another hour in before we depart." He said.

"That would be great." She replied, "Let me just go grab something to drink, it's unbearably hot." With this she disappeared below deck leaving just Vyse and Aika who stood together silently.

"Aika." He finally said.

"Yeah Vyse?"

"Be careful." Then he followed in the direction of Fina.

Aika remained above deck for a while, reflecting on the events of the past few hours. Had she really fallen that fast for a mysterious man she hardly knew? From what she could tell he was nice enough, the two had a lot in common, and he seemed to get along very well with everyone else, in fact he reminded her of Vyse. Vyse. Maybe that's why she fell so fast, unresolved feelings for Vyse were starting to carry over into other relationships.

Aika's mind was then brought back to the night not too long ago when she finally worked up the nerve to tell Vyse how she felt, which happened to be the same night Vyse revealed that he and Fina had secretly been seeing each other. The only other time she could remember feeling pain like that was the night she lost her parents. Suddenly Aika couldn't bear to be alone any longer and headed below deck. Once there she saw Dean, Kori, and Foster all sitting at a table laughing. She began heading towards them but decided she wouldn't want to interrupt so she headed in the opposite direction.

"Hey Aika!" Dean shouted. "Why don't you come join us?"

"Oh, alright." She said trying to conceal the excitement in her voice.

"Hey Dean," Kori started, "Remember back when we were stationed with admiral Belleza and our little ladies man Foster here tried to put the moves on her?"

"Haha how can I forget?" He replied.

"Hey," Foster interjected, "The way I remember it she had the hots for me, did you hear all those names she called me? Handsome, sweetheart, and I swear I heard her say sugar buns once."

"Foster get it through your head," Kori said, "That's just how she talked to men."

"Actually," Aika said making her debut in this conversation, "Belleza was in love with Galcian."

"Really?" Foster said. "But didn't she like, Kamikaze his escape pod?"

"Well I guess she thought the fate of the world was more important than a silly crush." She replied.

"Hey Kori, Kjera's coming this way." Foster said.

Kori turned to see a dark skinned crimson haired beauty heading in their direction.

"What's the story behind her?" Dean asked.

"Well that my friend is a story I would love to tell over and over again." Foster replied. "You see after the three of us went our separate ways, Kori and I got our own boat and decided we'd try to make an honest living. One day we're off by Ixa'Taka when suddenly we're approached by this ship full of beautiful Ixa'ness. They then proceeded to "kidnap" us and for the next two weeks we were essentially love slaves, the best kind of slave if you ask me. That there is Kjera, she specifically asked for Kori you know. After they set us free all he could talk about was that Ixa'ness girl Kjera, and then one day out of the blue, she came and joined Mr. Vyse's crew just like us."

"That's a pretty interesting story." Dean said with a laugh.

Kori's eyes continued to follow Kjera who then dropped something on the floor and bent over to pick it up in her short but tightly woven grass skirt. Kori began leaning back in his chair for a better look. Foster who had caught on then kicked the legs out from under his chair and Kori fell back hitting his head. This caught the attention of the beautiful Ixa'ness who came running to his side.

"Are you alright?" She asked as she placed his head in her lap.

"Oh I I'll be fine, I just hit my head is all." He replied.

"Well why don't you come with me and I can make you feel all better?" She said.

Kori smiled as Kjera helped him to his feet. As the two began leaving the galley Kori turned to the rest of the group and winked.

"She still considers him her personal love slave to this day. Lucky bastard." Foster said.

Then Vincent the helmsman approached Aika.

"Excuse me Ms. Aika, there are some men requesting to come aboard, they say they're here to sound proof parts of the ship?" He said.

"Oh right," she replied, "let them on the ship and then go find Vyse so he can show them all the areas that need work."

"Aye ma'am."

"And could you also stop calling me "Miss" and "ma'am"? I'm barely a year older than you."

"Aye ma- Aika."

"Sound proofers?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, some of the crew has been finding it difficult to sleep due to the engine noises."

"Among other late night noises." Foster added.

"Haha I see, well then it looks like I picked a good day to start."

"Well in any case Dean my friend, I think the captain would have my arse if I didn't get you doing some actual work today, you can come work guns with me and Kori until the captain says otherwise."

"That'd be great." He replied. "Just like old times. Well Aika I guess I'll be seeing you later, and thanks for everything you've done for me today, I really appreciate it." Then he and Foster headed off.

Afterwards Aika headed above deck to find Fina standing alone against the railing looking a bit down. Aika took a spot next to her.

"Hey Fina, what's the matter?" She asked. "Usually you're hanging all over Vyse right about now."

"Well Vyse has been a little distant lately. It seems all he ever wants to do is be alone with his charts and maps. I could probably walk in there completely nude and it wouldn't even get his attention."

Aika had forgotten how comfortable Fina had gotten around her to say such things. "Well have you tried walking in there completely nude?" She said jokingly.

"No, but I'm a bit tempted." She replied with a laugh.

"Well if you do, just warn me in advance. But have you tried just talking to him?"

"Yes. But it seems every time I do he finds a way to bring the conversation back to maps and charts, it's really starting to bother me."

"Well maybe he just needs some guy time, I mean he does spend most of his time with the two of us, and there are a lot worse things he could be doing."

"Yes I suppose you're right."

"Speaking of guy time…" Aika said motioning toward the door leading below deck. She could see Foster peeking his head out to see if the coast was clear. He then motioned to Kori, who motioned to Dean. Kori then placed a ball in the middle of the deck and the three began kicking it around getting more elaborate using their heads and chest as they went along. The Nasrean heat motivated the three of them to cast their shirts aside. Aika paid careful attention to the well built body of Dean. Fina giggled as she saw the flush building up in her friend's cheeks.

"You like him, don't you?" The silvite asked.

"Haha is it that obvious? And so what if I do."Aika replied.

"I didn't really mean anything by it. But it certainly seems like you've been happier since he joined the crew."

"Yeah, I don't know what it is about him."

"It couldn't be his good looks, witty sense of humor, and charm could it?"

"Haha well those are all great, but there's something else. I can't quite put my finger on it."

The two stood in silence for a moment. Then the door leading below deck opened to reveal Vyse, who came just in time to catch a ball that came flying in his direction. Kori and Foster looked worried at first, but soon Vyse joined in on their game.

"Maybe he does just need some guy time." Fina said to herself.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The ship was now fully stocked and sound proofed. It would be at least another two days sailing against the unusually strong winds before the crew would reach their home on crescent isle. It seemed everyone had their own agenda for those two days. Aika had made it her goal to get to know Dean better, little did she know he made it a goal to get to know her better, and Fina was busy trying to refocus Vyse's attention.

Fina tried everything she could think of to get his eyes off those damn charts. She took a couple inches off her skirt, and another of the neckline of her shirt, and although this did manage to catch the attention of many other members of the crew, it didn't seem like Vyse had caught on. For the time being Fina gave up figuring he would need her sooner or later.

Aika however couldn't have been happier. She and Dean spent as much time as possible together, exchanging stories of pirating for those of the solider life. Some were humorous, others left a bitter taste, but the time spent was always cherished. Although it did bother her seeing Fina alone all the time, so she tried to share her time as much as possible. Aika decided that it might be a good idea for Fina to do some sleuthing.

On the first night at sea, Fina decided to investigate the absence of her husband. She checked the Galley which save a few night shift crew members was completely empty. Then she found him on the bridge, still busy writing and charting. She approached him from behind wrapping her arms around his waist and laying her head on his back.

"Vyse," She said, "Why don't you come to bed? It's getting late and your wife is starting to miss you." She said squeezing him tighter. Then she got a good look at the charts. "What is all of this anyway?"

"Well you know those stories about Daccat, the Pirate King?"

"Yes I'm sure you've told me all the stories about him by now." She replied.

"That's just it though; all that's left of him is stories. I don't want us to end up like that, I don't want all of our adventures to wind up being exaggerated stories a hundred years from now, I want people to know the facts, so I've been writing everything down every since the day we first met you, and I've been sure to chart maps everywhere we've gone marking our discoveries along way. I want to leave behind a legacy." He said building up excitement.

Fina giggled a bit. She had almost forgotten that the man had married was still a little boy at heart. "Vyse I understand you want to work on all of this stuff, but do you have to be up at all hours of the night to do it, leaving your poor neglected wife to sleep all alone?"

"Haha right, neglected. Neglect is the reason I'm the most frequent customer to every jewelry shop between Valua and Maramba right?"

"You know I don't need any of that stuff Vyse, I'd be happing stranded on a deserted island with just sand and rocks as long as you were with me." She said as she planted a kiss on his lips.

Vyse sighed. "Alright, let me just finish this last chart on the lands of ice."

"Fine." She replied. "But I hope you can do that without a pen." She said as she took his pen and stuck it in her shirt.

"Haha like that's going to stop me." He said as he began chasing her around the bridge. After a couple minutes, a winded Vyse sat at his chair to catch his breath.

"You're not getting old now are you?" Fina said as she sat across his lap and began kissing him. Vyse found this to be the perfect opportunity to retrieve his pen. "Vyse that's not fair, you tricked me!" She said as she tackled him to the ground. This time she took the pen and threw it out an open window.

Vyse laid back and stared into his wife's lustrous eyes. He held her close as she placed her head on his chest just below his neck. It had been a while since the two held each other like this.

"Alright," he said, "I think you've changed my mind." He said as they stood up. The two walked back towards their bedroom hand in hand. Vyse stopped in the galley.

"Vincent, you're on duty the rest of the night." He said.

"Aye captain." He replied.

Vyse opened the bedroom door for Fina and promptly shut it behind him. They quickly got into their sleeping attire and were soon under the covers in the same position as earlier in the bridge. They remained in each other's arms the rest of the night.

Vyse woke up early the next morning hoping to get a head start on the day. Rather than immediately jump from bed however, he continued lying with his wife, enjoying her company. He felt his senses were always a bit stronger in the morning. He closed his eyes and listened to the sound of her soft breathing while running his fingers through her hair giving him a chance to enjoy just how soft it was.

Unfortunately the captain can't stay in bed all day, so Vyse took one last good look of his beautiful wife, planted a kiss on her forehead, and got dressed. He always made sure to start the day with a big breakfast and a hot cup of coffee. As he entered the galley he noticed Dean sitting at a table in the middle of the room and took a seat next to him.

"Morning captain." Dean said.

"You're sure up early for someone whose shift doesn't start for another three hours." Vyse replied ignoring the greeting.

"Yeah what can I say? I'm a morning person."

The two sat in an awkward silence. Then Dean broke it.

"You still don't trust me, do you Vyse?" He said. Vyse remained silent. "Can't say I blame you." Dean finished as he left the galley.

Vyse sat alone eating his breakfast, contemplating that strange encounter. He was now surer than ever that Dean was hiding something. He finally shook off the feeling and headed to the bridge to relieve Vincent of his duties. He entered to find Vincent standing attentively at the helm.

"Alright Vince I'll take it from here." Vyse said. There was no reply. "Vince?" He said walking closer to him. Vincent's eyes were open and appeared to be awake, but he was completely motionless not even blinking. Vyse started waving his hands in front of his eyes and snapping his fingers. "Vince?" He said again. "Vince!" He shouted. Vincent suddenly jumped.

"Oh captain, sorry about that I must have dozed off for a minute there." He said nervously.

"How long has this been going on?"Vyse asked with a serious expression.

"As far as I can tell, this was the only time; of course if I was asleep I wouldn't really have a way of knowing."

"You know you're practically begging me to reassign you."

"No no, don't worry about that. We've never gotten off course have we? Check right now, I was serious when I said I could fly any ship in my sleep."

"Whatever you say, but you know what's going to happen if we ever do get off course. Now go get some sleep with your eye closed."

"Aye aye captain."

Before taking the helm, Vyse checked the map and compass and sure enough they were still on course and making good time. He took a hold of them helm and set his gaze ahead of him. It was still somewhat dark outside except for a distant glow in the east. A light breeze was blowing in through the window making the bridge calm and cool. Vyse enjoyed the first few hours of the morning at the helm; it was often the only quiet time he received anymore. After his few hours were up, Aika entered still tired.

"Good morning Vyse." She said slapping him on the back. There was no reply. "Everything alright?"

"Huh? Oh hey Aika. No, nothing's wrong I was just a bit distracted. It's a really nice morning."

"Yeah it is." She said. The two stood alone on the bridge in an awkward silence.

"What's on your mind?" He asked suddenly.

"What do you mean?" She replied.

"Come on Aika, I can tell these things."

"Well it's just, well it's about Dean."

"Here we go." Vyse sighed.

"Come on Vyse, is he really so bad? You don't even know him."

"Neither do you. I know you feel like you guys have some kind of connection, but can you really say you know someone after talking to them for a few hours? For all you know every word he's said as been a lie."

"Vyse what happened to you? When did you become so cynical? This isn't like you at all; the Vyse I know wouldn't just assume someone was a bad person because he was keeping a secret. No, the Vyse I know would earn his trust and find out whatever it was in honest conversation."

This really seemed to hit him deep. "I know." He said. "You're right, this isn't like me. I'm sorry. I just couldn't stand to see you get hurt again. I've been feeling so guilty about everything that's happened between the two of us I guess I took it upon myself to make sure you don't get hurt again."

"Vyse." Aika said quietly. She then wrapped her arms around his waist; he put one arm around her shoulder keeping the other at the helm.

"I'll start taking it easy on him from now on." He said.

"Thanks Vyse. You really are the best, you know that?"

"Well, I guess they don't call me Vyse the Legend for nothing." He said with a smirk. Aika laughed.

"Should I be worried about I'm seeing?" Fina said as she entered the bridge, carefully observing the position of her husband's hands. Aika smiled as she loosened her grip on Vyse.

"If there's something you two need to tell me you should just do it now, because if I catch you two in the act you'll be in big trouble." Fina said playfully.

"Don't worry," Aika said, "We just haven't had a chance to talk for a while."

"I see, I guess I just forgot how much hugging was involved with talking." Fina replied. Vyse laughed, and then switched hands at the helm using his free hand to pull his wife closer. "That's more like it." She said as they kissed.

"Well if you two love birds well excuse me, I haven't had a chance to eat yet, I'll see you later." Aika said, and then walked out. She arrived in the galley to find Emily, their cook, on her break at one of the tables. She walked over to her.

"Hey Emily, mind if I join you here?" She asked.

"Not at all Aika." She replied. Aika took a spot across the table from her.

"So Emily, you've been with us for a few months now. How do you like being a blue rogue so far?" Aika asked, attempting somewhat stimulating conversation.

"It's not all that different from when I worked at Gordo's Bistro actually. I mean when it comes to serving food anyway, it's certainly a lot different trying to cook on a moving ship. At this point I've more or less given up on trying come out of there with clean clothes, and I've broken my record of most dishes dropped twice now."

"Haha, well those things cost money you know." Aika said.

"I know, but when the wind picks up and the ship really gets moving, it's difficult not to have a spill or two."

"Well other than the turbulence, how is everything going?"

"I can't complain. Being a pirate is loads more fun than a chef in a stuffy restaurant that's for sure. Although it sure does make dating difficult."

"Haha well we don't discourage inter-crew dating on the ship you know, it definitely makes things more convenient."

"Inter-crew dating eh?" Emily said with an approaching smile.

"Someone you have in mind?"

"Well you might say there is a certain soldier turned gunner who tickles my fancy. But I don't think such an adventurous guy would want to settle down with a ship cook."

"Oh you mean Foster? Well you never know if you don't ask."

"Haha this is true. If only I could be so bold. In any case my break is about up, time for me to strap on my apron and get back to work."

"See ya Emily." Aika said as Emily headed back into the kitchen. After that conversation Aika thought it might be a good idea to start spending more time with the crew, she hardly knew any of the people who had been all around her for months, years some of them. Right now however, she was looking to get some fresh air so she headed topside. Once there she saw Dean leading up against the rails and walked over to him.

"Hey Dean."

"Oh, hey Aika didn't see you there."

"Well I was behind you."

"It sure is a beautiful day."

"Yeah, in these parts that usually means a storm is coming later."

"I could use some rain, being stuck in Nasrad like I have been the last little while I can't say I've seen a whole lot of precipitation."

"I'm not really big on storms." Aika said sounding a little sad. "I have so many bad memories of stormy nights."

"Parents?" He said.

"Yeah." She replied, sadder than before. She was a bit caught off guard when Dean put a comforting arm around her shoulder. Surprised as she was, she didn't say anything.

"It's tough losing family." He said. "You have these people you've known and loved your entire life, and then suddenly without any warning they're taken from you. As hard as you might try, you can't prepare yourself for something like that."

Aika buried herself a bit deeper into Dean as he said this, placing her head on his shoulder. The only sound was that of the wind blowing by as the ship moved through the air. Aika could have stayed there for hours. Unfortunately after a time Dean removed his arm.

"Well I've got to be getting back to work now; I'd hate to get Vyse on my case." Dean said as he headed towards the door.

"Dean." Aika called. He stopped and turned. "Thanks." She said.

"You're welcome." He replied with a smile.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Aika hated when she was right, especially when it came it to predicting weather patterns. A large storm had come across their path late into the night. The winds outside were howling and rain was battering the ship like cannon fire from a thousand tiny ships. Still, the worst of it was the thunder. Almost every loud crash caused Aika to jump a bit, she tried to prepare herself for it every time she saw the lighting, but they were too quick in conjunction.

These were the nights she was saddest. Any time there was a storm her thoughts were instantly brought back to the night she lost her parents, it was so fresh in her mind it was like she was reliving it every time.

She saw herself as a little child again, aboard captain Dyne's old Albatross. She heard the sound of thunder crashing. Suddenly there was a large explosion; the thunder she thought she had heard earlier was cannon fire from a Valuan cruiser. Aika ran with her mother and father to the life boats as quickly as possible; she reached them first and helped herself in. She turned to see her father helping her mother who had stumbled over some fallen ship debris. Then there was another enormous explosion as the fire spread to the ammunitions. Aika was knocked back by the force causing her to hit her head, rendering her unconscious. When she awoke she was back on Pirate Isle, her parents didn't make it.

After a time Aika thought she would find something better to do than wallow in sorrow alone in her bed and began walking around the ship. Everything was different at night; usually the only thing you could hear was the humming of the engine, but now that everything was sound proofed all she could hear were her own footsteps. Still jumping with the occasional thunderbolt, Aika went to the galley and downed a glass of water. As she headed back down the hall she noticed there was a light on in one of the crew bedrooms and decided to investigate. She opened the door to see Dean, Foster, Kori, and Kjera playing some sort of card game.

"Oh hey Aika," Dean said, "Care to join us for a friendly game of poker?"

"Sure." She said with a smile. Aika sat in the circle between Kjera and Dean.

"So now where were we?" Kjera asked. "Oh right, Foster how are things going with you and Emily?"

"Foster I didn't know you and Emily were involved." Aika said.

"Well we're not really." He replied.

"Yeah Foster doesn't have the guts to do anything about it." Kori said mockingly, earning him a glare from Foster.

"Well I talked to her earlier today," Aika said, "I think you've got a pretty good chance with her."

"Royal Flush." Dean said with a grin as he laid out his cards. The others groaned at this.

"Dammit Dean," Foster said, "Here I am trying to have nice conversation with Aika here and you find this to be the perfect time to take all my money?"

"Well maybe you should keep your head in the game." Dean replied. Then there was another crash of thunder, Aika jumped and several curious looks were sent in her direction.

"I don't like thunder." She said quietly.

"And I don't like taking all this money," Dean said laying down his hand, "Pair of queens. And I was just kidding, I love taking your money." The rest of the room groaned again.

"Just remember that I'm the one who taught you everything you know about playing cards." Kori said. "A decision I now find myself to be regretting."

"Well what can I say; I guess Aika here is my lucky charm." Dean said, smiling in her direction. Kjera saw this and smiled a bit too.

"Why can't we be that cute?" Kjera asked Kori.

"I've always thought it was cute that both our names start with a k." He replied.

"Yeah, that's good I guess."

"Thanks a lot Dean, now you're taking all my money and making me look bad in front of my lady."

"Maybe you should just try being as cute as I am. And maybe you should give you more of your money." He said laying down another hand. "Two pair, tens and jacks."

"Not so fast," Aika said. "If I remember correctly a five high straight beats two pair. So I think you really need to be giving your money to me."

"You know I've been losing more and more money ever since you got here." Foster said.

"What can I say? I'm a pirate, it's my nature." Aika laughed along with the rest of the room.

Another crash of thunder and once again Aika jumped; this time Dean put the same comforting arm around her and she scooted closer.

"You know I must say it's somewhat strange that even though our ship's been sound proofed we can still hear all that thunder out there." Dean said.

"Maybe someone has a window open?" Kori suggested.

"That or it's some kind of plot device." Kjera said.

Whatever the reason Aika certainly didn't mind it any more now that she was in close with Dean.

The storm raged on through the night and so did the card game between the group of friends. It wasn't long before Kori and Kjera had both lost all the money they were planning on losing and left the other three to their game. Foster was determined to win his money back but soon found it to be futile as Aika and Dean had now robbed him and soon he left too leaving only Dean and Aika.

"Well it's getting pretty late." Aika said. "I should probably be getting back to my room now; we're probably going to be having a busy day tomorrow with all the unloading."

"Let me walk you there." Dean replied. Even though she was just down the hall, Aika accepted the escort.

Aika maintained a grip on Dean's hand for the brief stroll down the hall. They stopped just outside of the door.

"I had a lot of fun tonight." She said.

"Yeah me too, I had no idea you were such a poker player." He replied.

"Well there are still a lot of things you don't know about me." She said.

"I wouldn't mind taking some time to find out." He said as he pulled her closer. Aika's heart began racing, she could feel her cheeks beginning to blush. She closed her eyes and leaned in closer. She could feel his breath across her face. Then a door opened behind them. They stopped and turned to see Vyse exiting his bedroom.

"I'm not interrupting am I?" He said.

"Of course not," Dean said, "Some of us were just playing cards and I was walking Aika back to her room."

"Ha-ha well I hope she took it easy on you, there's a reason I never play cards with her." Vyse replied.

"It would have been nice to know that a couple hours ago."

"Well anyway, I think your shift starts in a few minutes, I'd get something to eat now if I were you."

"Aye captain." Dean said as he headed down to the galley.

"Dang it Vyse, do you always have to get up so early?" Said a rather annoyed Aika.

"Well I am the captain after all, it's sorta my job."

"Well thanks a lot." She said storming into her room, slamming the door behind her. "Stupid Vyse, ruining my moment." She muttered to herself. She sat in front of her mirror and began brushing her hair. She started reflecting on the events earlier that night. Even if he hadn't gotten that kiss at the end, it was still a good night. During her reflecting she also remembered that she hadn't eaten anything for several hours and decided to head to the galley for some breakfast.

The galley was unusually quiet; it seemed everyone was off working. At this rate it would only be a few more hours before they reached crescent isle, so everyone who had unfinished work to do was doing it as quickly as possible. Procrastination was a frequent problem.

Aika took a table by herself and quickly downed her breakfast. Having already finished her duties on the ship, and having no one to socialize with in the galley, she began wandering the ship hoping to run into anyone else with free time. Everyone below deck seemed to be busy so she went topside. Once again she caught Dean, Kori, and Foster in the middle of not working. The three stood at the starboard side of the deck, each with a fishing rod and net, and next to them was a bucket full of fish with clipped wings.

"I didn't know we paid the gunners to do our fishing for us." She said. The three jumped as they heard these words. They turned to face her.

"Oh, Miss Aika," Kori started, "You see uh… Emily! Yes Emily asked us to uh… catch some fish for her because she was running low in the kitchen, so here we are still being worthy to be paid for our labors." He said with a big fake grin.

"Right, if anything it's about damn time we get a bonus for all the extra work we do around here." Foster added.

"Ha-ha well then I'll make sure to let Vyse know all about your extra work." She replied

"Oh well, he really doesn't need to know anything, I mean this is really just anonymous charity work we're doing here. In fact why don't you pretend none of this ever happened?" Kori said.

"Is that so? I thought you said you were doing this for Emily?"

"Right, she asked us to do it… anonymously" He replied.

"Damn Kori," Dean said, "You better not ever try to become a lawyer; no one would even have to argue against you, you would just defeat yourself." He said with a laugh.

"Relax you guys," Aika said. "I'm not going to say anything; I've been known to slack off every now and again myself. And if my mouth is full of fish, how am I going to be able to say anything?"

"So it's bribery now is it?" Dean said. Aika smiled. "Well you're going to have to talk to Foster about that one, most of those fish are his."

"Foster I had no idea you were such a good fisherman. What's your secret?"

"It's exactly that, a secret. But if you must know it's all about the bait, you get the right bait, you get the big fish." He replied.

"I remember once our entire platoon was stranded on an island for a week." Dean said.

"Yeah, and the only reason we survived was because of this guy's mad fishing skills." Kori said putting an arm around Foster's neck.

"Ha-ha well that might be a slight exaggeration." Foster said.

"So where did you learn all of this about fishing?" Aika asked.

"My dad used to own a fishing boat." He replied.

"Fishing Empire is more like it." Dean said.

"Well he supplied a pretty good portion of the fish to Valua back in the day, til the damn Nasrean fleet blew him out of the sky, damn embargo malarkey. That's when I decided it was my time to join the Armada, the day it was okay to blow up fishing boats trying to make an honest day's work.

"I'm really sorry to hear that. It sounds like all of you had your reasons for joining the Armada, so what about you Kori? Did something happen to you to?"

"Hell, I was just bored." He replied. The group laughed at that.

Aika began noticing small desert islands on the horizon, meaning they were getting close to home.

"Well you guys, it's been fun but I think I should start getting my stuff ready." She said.

"Alright, see you later." Dean said with a somewhat longing gaze.

"Bye Aika." Kori and Foster said in a mocking tone. Dean gaze them a rude finger gesture. With that Aika went below deck.

"So Dean, you and Aika eh?" Kori said.

"Yep, me and Aika." He replied.

"Was that your plan all along? Join up with the crew so you could get in bed with Aika?"

"You know you really have a way with words. It's not like it happened on purpose, and although it may be somewhat difficult for your enormous libido to comprehend, but I'm not just looking for someone to "get into bed with." Dean replied a bit defensively.

"Aww, our little Deanie is in love." Kori said.

"Yeah? So what if I am?"

"Well then… uh…" Kori said searching for a clever reply.

"I think he means good for you." Foster said.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

It was late into the afternoon, approaching dusk, when the shape of crescent isle began to form in the vast emptiness of the northeastern skies. Once a desolate and recluse island amid the sea, crescent isle had become a fairly popular port in the area. Not because of convenience but because being in a close proximity to the legendary Vyse himself was very good for business. It had accumulated so much popularity in fact, that several expansions had taken place. Very little of what the island had been could still be seen. Several shops and restaurants had opened, of course Vyse and his crew received a large cut, demand was so high an inn was opened and a small port was installed on the western part of the island.

Although he somewhat enjoyed fame, Vyse was a pirate first and a celebrity second. He hated the constant public attention, and money was something he preferred stealing from Valuans or Black Pirates, not honestly earning it on the real estate market. Of course now stealing from the Armada was out of the question, and Black Pirates didn't put up the same fight they did now that he was a hero, he often worried his days of piracy may be over. However he and his cohorts did have plans to one day disappear from crescent isle and find a new pirate base to operate from, one which would stay secret, in hopes that over time they could return to their old ways. But until that day, he would have to swallow his pride and live as a sell out.

All of this new found attention, having been mostly positive, did occasionally bring the wrath of the rare black pirates who were brave enough to attack, but only brave enough to do so under the cover of nightfall when most of the crew was asleep. In an effort to defend from such attacks, Vyse had one large and extremely powerful cannon installed on the peak crest of the island so that whatever crew may be up during such an assault would be able to counter in a timely manner. The cannon had only ever been fired once, and there have since been no attacks on the island.

The sun reflected off the cannon creating a sort of beacon guiding the ship home, although the island was quite large, a lighthouse was yet to be built. The rear of the island began to open, revealing the large hidden interior of the island where their ship was berthed. In no time docking procedures had finished, and Vyse and his crew were finally home after a very interesting couple of days.

"Well Dean," Aika started, "Welcome to your new home."

Dean looked all around him. "Well it certainly is… big."

"Ha-ha and you haven't even been above ground yet, let me show you around." Aika said with a big grin. Dean smiled back.

The two headed up the stairway and stopped at a large steel door. "Originally anyone could just come in and out of our little port here, so Vyse had a couple steel security doors installed, we'll have to make a copy of the key for you." Aika said.

"What happens if someone loses their key?" Dean asked.

"Well we actually have a couple hidden passages around the island that I can show you later, they're mostly there in case of emergencies but I'll admit to having lost my key a few times." Aika then inserted a key into the large lock, turned it, and then pushed the large steel door out of the way.

The sun was just about to set on crescent isle when Dean and Aika had gotten above ground. It was quite warm with a slight breeze making its way across the island. The air was still fresh from the previous night's storm.

"It's beautiful." Dean said, taking a careful note of the various trees and flowers growing around the island.

"If you want beautiful, we'll have to watch the sunset from up there." She said pointing towards the deck outside the captain's office. "In the mean time let me show you the rest of the island." The two continued their tour.

"Here we have the inn," she said pointing to the large blue stucco building, "This is where you'll be staying until we can expand the crew quarters a bit more."

"Oh I didn't realize my being here would be such a burden."

"Don't worry, you won't be the only one, we've needed another expansion for a while now."

"Good." He replied. "Is there any kind of armory here?"

"Well we don't really have an official armory for ourselves on the island. We do have a couple merchants in our crew who operate shops on the interior of the island who will give you good discounts on weapons and armor though."

"Alright and where's a good place to eat?"

"There are a couple different restaurants on the island, but most of the crew just eats at the tavern over here because it's run by the crew. I take it you're hungry then?"

"Well it would certainly be nice to sit down and have a drink."

"Yeah all that "work" you did the past couple days must have really been rough."

"Ha-ha well you didn't seem to mind when we were up all night playing cards."

"Yeah yeah, let's just get ourselves a drink." She said heading towards the tavern. Dean held the door for her.

Once inside they were hit by the powerful aroma of loqua and cooking meat. Several members of the crew were already inside enjoying themselves. As they entered the first thing Dean noticed was a piano sitting in the far corner.

"A piano? Does anybody here play?" He asked to Aika.

"Actually Vyse had that put there because he figured with all the people on this island someone had to be able to play."

"I take that as a no then."

"Well every once and a while a passing musician might play for us, but it's not often."

"Well I think I may be able to remedy that." Dean said as he made his way over to the grand piano.

He placed himself in the center of the bench and positioned his fingers across the keys. He then began to play a very soft and slow melody. Aika sat at a nearby table and listened. As the melody continued he added a bass line. Most of the inhabitants of the tavern had now quieted and focused their attention on the young man at the piano who continued despite the new attention. Soft refrains paired with light bass chords created an almost haunting air about the room. It was the sort of music one might expect to hear at a funeral. It was eerie and beautiful at the same time. He must have played close to seven minutes before finishing with one last minor chord. He was somewhat shocked to see all eyes on him as he turned around. The tavern applauded.

"Thank you, and now for a bit more of a jaunty tune." He said as he turned to face the piano. This time he began to play a much more upbeat song, one much of the tavern found to be a bit more danceable. It wasn't long before much of the tavern began clapping with the beat; one pirate found a fiddle to join in with and soon the whole place was alive. After a long while, Dean finished by pounding out a few indistinguishable notes on the piano and then left from his bench, much to the chagrin of those enjoying the music.

"I thank you, but now I'm afraid I must eat." Dean said taking a bow and then making his way over to Aika.

"Dean that was amazing, where did you learn to play like that?" Aika said, rather engrossed.

"Well when I was growing up I started taking some piano lessons, after a while my sister wouldn't let me go to bed without playing her a lullaby, so I had a lot of time to practice. Plus we had quite a bit of time for leave back in the Armada, and I needed to find something to do with all that spare time."

"That first song you played was really beautiful."

"I'm glad you liked it." He said with a big smile. "So what's good here?" He said eying the menu.

"Well you can't go wrong with a big steak." She replied. "And the house loqua always sits just right."

"Then I guess I know what I'm having."

The two sat and talked over their meal for another quick half an hour before setting out to see this sunset that Aika had promised to be the most beautiful Dean had ever seen. They walked a short distance to the platform which would raise them to the deck. There they leaned over the railing and looked down across the island. Everything had an orange glow cast over it.

"This really is beautiful." Dean said.

"I told you. I never miss a sunset here when we're home, no two are alike." Aika said.

Dean took in a deep breath, filling his lungs with the fresh island air, and at the same time took a step closer to Aika. Her heart jumped for a quick moment as she felt his hand slide around her waist. They turned to face each other, Aika placing a hand on Dean's arm. Again she felt her cheeks beginning to blush, and again they leaned forward into each other only this time there was no interruption as their lips met. They separated for a brief moment, Aika looked deep into Dean's eyes and smiled, he smiled back and kissed her again.

The two spent the remaining hours of the night in each other's arms above the island on the deck. The sun had set and now bright stars dotted the sky with a large red moon reigning over them all.

"Well it's getting late." Dean said after nearly an hour of silence. "I better walk you back to your room now."

"That's a good idea." She replied taking his hand and walking towards the elevator. They walked hand in hand up to Aika's room. She stopped at the door and gave him one last kiss.

"Good night." She said, still a tad flushed.

"Good night." He replied and headed off to his own room at the inn.

Dean entered the inn and found a small elderly man behind the desk. "Ah you must be Dean." The man said. "Your room is up the stairs at the end of the hall."

"Thank you." He replied.

Dean ascended the stairs and opened the door to the room at the end of the hall. The room was much nicer than he had anticipated, although he hadn't expected anything more than a small cot or something similar to it. Instead he found a queen sized bed, a desk and chair, and an adequate sized dresser. He also found that someone had already gone to the trouble of bringing his belongings in the room for him.

He had been lying in bed, unable to sleep, for close to an hour when there came a knock at his door. He got to his feet and opened his door to discover Aika standing outside in the hallway.

"Hey, is everything alright?" He asked with a concerned tone in his voice.

"Yeah everything is fine. I was just having a hard time getting to sleep so I figured you might be able to play me a lullaby." Aika replied. Dean had never heard something so cute in his life. He opened the door wider and let her in, she smiled. Aika jumped in his bed, pulling the covers over her. Dean pulled the covers open and crawled into bed next to her. She then laid her head on his chest, putting her arms around his neck.

"Well, get to playing." She said. Dean began humming the tune he had been playing earlier in the tavern. It wasn't long before Aika was fast asleep and Dean followed suit.

Aika woke up early the next morning, but pretended to be asleep for as long as she could get away with. She was happier than she had been in months and didn't want this moment to end anytime soon. She pulled the warmth that was Dean closer to her, listening to his slow melodic heart beat. He began running his fingers through her hair, which she had let down during the night.

"Good morning." He said at last.

"Morning." She muttered, her face still buried in his chest.

"It sure would be nice if we could stay here all day." He said.

"Yeah it would." She replied.

"Unfortunately…" He started.

"Noooooo…" She said with drowsiness still heavy in her voice.

"I have to get working, how would it look if I showed up late on my first day of duty?"

Aika let out a sigh. "Yeah I guess." She said rolling off of him. "I'll meet you later for lunch?"

Dean hesitated, "Yeah, we can meet for lunch." He said.

"What is it?" She asked suddenly more awake.

"It's nothing, don't worry about it, we'll meet for lunch." He said as he planted a long kiss on her lips. With that he left the room.

"What was that all about?" Aika said to herself. She then looked at the clock; it was a few hours earlier than the time she usually got up at. She lay in bed for a few minutes but couldn't seem to get back to sleep so she started getting ready. After she finished getting her hair up she went out to the tavern for some breakfast. Once inside she saw Fina.

"Good morning Aika." Fina said.

"Good morning." Aika replied, taking a seat across from Fina. "You're up awfully early aren't you?"

"Well I figured if Vyse can get up this early, I can too. It's not too bad so far." She said as she let out a large yawn.

"Yeah I don't know how guys like Vyse and Dean can do it."

"Oh? And just how would you know what time a guy like Dean gets up?" Fina asked rather inquisitively.

"Oh, well I…" Aika was having a hard time finding an excuse.

Fina laughed. "It's okay Aika, I saw you walking out of the inn this morning and I figured there was only one reason you'd be in there."

"Nothing happened I swear." Aika said defensively. "We just talked a little bit, and then I fell asleep."

"Right, you "talked"." Fina said giggling.

"Come on Fina."

"I know, I was just kidding. I wish everyone didn't take me so seriously all the time."

"Well I guess that's what happens when you're serious for such a long time. I have to say it's about time you developed a personality."

"Hey I had a personality back then too. And at least I'm not sleeping with the new recruits." Fina shot back.

"Well the only reason you're still part of this crew is because you're sleeping with the captain." Aika returned fire.

"Well he is my husband."

Anyone who hadn't been in the crew for long would be thinking that here were the makings of a real cat fight, but Fina and Aika got in these ersatz arguments all the time. Apparently they thought it was fun calling each other terrible things.

"Honestly Fina, what do you bring to this team anyway?" Aika said.

"I'm the pretty one." She replied. "Every crew needs something pretty to look at."

Aika found herself without a comeback.

"I'm sorry, that was taking it a bit too far." Fina said, returning to her usual docile personality.

Then Vyse' familiar laughter could be heard. "Actually I have to say that was a pretty good come back." He said taking a seat next to his wife. "It looks like you may have taught her too well Aika."

"Yeah it looks like I created some kind of monster." Aika laughed.

"You're just mad because I finally beat you." Fina replied.

"Hey you guys I think that's enough." Vyse said. "But what was that I heard about you sleeping with new recruits Aika?"

"You heard that?" Aika said a bit caught off guard.

"I heard most of it." He replied.

"It was nothing really; Dean and I just fell asleep in his room is all."

"Right right." Vyse said heavy with sarcasm.

"Oh not you too Vyse, I figured of all people you would understand. It was just like that night with you a few years ago."

"Excuse me?" Fina said. "What night is she talking about Vyse?"

"It was nothing. A few years ago there was this really bad storm back on my dad's island and Aika got a bit scared so she came and got in bed with me, nothing happened."

"Is there anything else I need to know about you two in the past?"

"No not at all. Well I mean… no there's nothing."

"Vyse!" Fina shouted.

"Don't worry Fina." Aika said. "Nothing has ever happened."

"Okay, but you better stay away from my husband." Fina said with a fake glare. The three friends shared a laugh.

They ate a large breakfast, ensuring they had plenty of energy for the day's work. It was still early, the sun was just rising, and the sky was still a pale blue. Then Alan, one of the lookouts, came running through the door.

"Vyse!" He shouted. "Vyse come quick!"

"What is it?" Vyse said, getting up from his seat.

"Just come outside quick!" Alan shouted again. Vyse, Fina, and Aika ran outside. "There to the west!" He said pointing at the sky. "Just above the horizon."

Vyse pulled out his spy glass and aimed it in the direction Alan as pointing. Far in the distance, just off the coast of the Valuan continent, Vyse could see three large black ships in battle formation.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The once calm crescent isle had now erupted into a full blown panic. Vyse was trying to assemble his crew while the civilians on the island clamored about trying to find safety; yet another reason Vyse hated his popularity. Once most of the crew had assembled, Vyse climbed atop the roof of the Tavern so that everyone could hear him more clearly.

"Alright everybody listen up. Those ships look like they mean business, and I don't think we have much time before they get here. Now I'm going to need everyone scheduled for the reserve crew to stay here on the island and get all the civilians into safety, and in case one of those ships attempts to take the island it would be a good idea to arm yourself. Everyone else will be coming with us; we're going to be departing within the next five minutes here so hurry to your stations."

"Aye-Aye!" The mass of crew replied.

As everyone was running to their stations, Vyse spotted Foster and called over to him. "Foster I'm going to need to stay here and man the cannon, I don't want any of those ships getting close enough to hurt anyone and I know I can count on you to take them down if they try."

"Aye Captain." Foster replied as he headed to the elevator.

Vyse then searched for his next target. He spotted the red head running towards doors leading down to their port. "Aika!" He shouted. She began making her way over to him.

"What is it Vyse?"

"I want you to stay here and lead the crew on the island, a lot of them are new and things might get a bit disorganized without someone here to help them out, especially with everything that's going on."

"If you really think that's best. Do you think they'll listen to me though?"

"Well they better, you're the first mate."

"Right." She replied, still apprehensive.

Vyse turned back to find Fina who was waiting for him just outside the hangar.

"Are you ready?" He asked as he opened the steel door.

"Yeah." She replied.

The two walked past the large doorway and headed down the spiral stairs to their ship. Most of the crew was onboard at this point, and any who weren't were rushing up the ramp to their battle stations. Vyse and Fina rushed to the bridge, the former taking his position at the helm and the latter at his side.

Vyse gave the signal to one of the deck hands inside the hangar to engage the disembarkation process. A series of levers and switches began to make another series of cogs and gears lock in to place which would raise a platform that would turn the ship around, a process much faster and proficient than manually backing up such a large vessel.

In no time the hatch to the hangar was open and Vyse and crew were off to fight another battle. Back on the surface, Foster was atop the island trying to get the cannon running as quickly as possible. He heard shouting from below and turned to investigate the cause. He could see the battle was already beginning. Vyse and his crew were heading off in the direction of what appeared to be the enemy flagship, the largest of the three. Then Foster noticed one of the ships was breaking away from formation.

"Ah crap, that thing is coming this way." He muttered to himself. He looked down and noticed many faces on the island were now turned towards him. He jumped back to work. The pressure was on and his heart was racing.

"Alright, stabilizers are locked, powder keg is full, and power is completely charged. Let's blow these guys away." As soon as the words left his mouth he heard cannon fire. He looked up to see a large shell flying towards the island; however it missed by several yards.

"I'm running out of time here." Foster took his seat in the gunner's chair just below the cannon, and then he began the automated loading system.

"Thirty seconds to load, five to fire. Thirty seconds to load, five to fire." He continuously repeated to himself. Although the loading system was automated, pulling the cannon shells from a reservoir below the cannon, Foster always argued he could do it faster himself.

"One, two, three, four, five," He counted as the process began. He pulled down the overhead targeting system, which he considered a glorified spyglass with crosshairs, and began making adjustments to make for a more accurate shot. He knew the basic model of the ship the enemies were using. It was likely hijacked from the Valuan armada and had some minor adjustments made, however it would still have the same weak spot just above the main cannon battery.

"Eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen," He continued. Another cannon volley blew past the island, this one narrowly missing the cannon. Foster began to sweat, luckily as far as he knew no one was as accurate a shot as he.

"Twenty seven, twenty eight, twenty nine, thirty!" His hand slammed down on the large red button which would send the shell flying. The sound of metal on metal grinded behind him, he braced himself for the shot. The entire island shook as the large armor piercing round was sent flying.

Foster watched as the cannon shell made contact with its target. A large explosion hit almost exactly where he had intended. After the flames had dissipated he could see that the ship was still maintaining its course albeit without as much firepower as previous.

"One more shot." He said as he engaged the loading system once again. "One, two, three, four, five, six," He could see the secondary cannons on the ship begin making adjustments. "Fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen," He continued. The ship's cannon appeared to be locked on. "Twenty five, twenty six,"

The ship fired, all seemed to become very still. Foster could see the cannon fire coming closer and closer. "Thirty!" Foster shouted slamming the button with no time to spare. As quickly as possible Foster jumped from his seat and began falling to the ground. The last thing he heard was a small explosion followed by a much larger one, and then everything went black.

"Vyse!" Fina shouted, "One of the ships is heading towards the island!"

"Damn, I'm counting on you Foster." Vyse said under his breath. Then he activated the newly installed P.A. system and pulled the small voice box to his mouth. "Battle stations everyone; we've got two ships coming up on us fast. If we're going to take both of them on at the same time we're going to need everyone at the top of their game. Gunners when you get your orders don't hesitate to fire. We're going to be pulling some pretty difficult maneuvers here so everyone else hold on tight."

In no time the battle had begun. Rather than fight one at a time it seemed the enemy figured they had a better shot of taking on Vyse if they attacked at once. Although difficult, Vyse was confident in his abilities and that of his crew.

"Alright everyone, the enemy might have us out armored, but we have them far out maneuvered, and I think I have a plan to take them down. Gunners, I need you to load all the torpedoes and get ready to fire them."

Vyse turned the helm hard to port, the ship churned as it was forced to turn and face the smaller of the two ships. "I need engines at full speed ahead." Vyse shouted. The ship began accelerating. "Alright gunners, get ready to fire torpedoes, use as much powder as possible." The ships got closer and closer.

"Vyse?" Fina looked a bit worried about her husband's objective.

"Just trust me." He replied.

As the ships sped closer together it was obvious that neither party had any intentions of breaking away.

"Perfect." Vyse said. Just as the ships' bows nearly touched, Vyse sent the ship diving downward. "Fire!" Vyse shouted. All of the torpedo bays on the ship opened simultaneously and began delivering their payloads. In no time the enemy ship had been completely torn apart.

Again Vyse turned hard to port to turn and see the fruits of his plan. The remnants of the ship had been engulfed in flames and were slowly falling beneath the clouds. Upon further inspection he also noticed the third ship, which had been attacking the island, was also absent, meaning Foster was successful in taking it down as well.

"This is going better than I could have imagined." Vyse said with a grin. "Alright everyone, we took down the smaller ship, it looks like all we have left is the flagship. Start getting ready for another battle." Then Vyse put down the small black box and turned to Fina. "See? They should have known not to take us on."

Fina smiled. "You're right, that was a pretty clever trick you played back there. You had me worried for a second."

"Hopefully this next battle will be a bit a more straight-forward."

Vyse began approaching the flagship, which had now slowed and turned to face them.

"Well it looks like they plan to board us. I guess I did ask for a more straight-forward battle and now I'm getting one. All crew prepare to be boarded." He said into the P.A. system. "We better get going." Vyse said to Fina.

"Right." She replied.

"Vince, take the helm and arm yourself."

"Aye captain." Vince said as he relieved Vyse of them helm.

Vyse and Fina rushed from the bridge to the deck, there they could see that the enemy ship had already lined up decks and crew from the ship were hurling grappling hooks across the deck rails to steady the hold. Various crew members from below deck had already come atop and were preparing for battle.

"Cupil!" Fina said. With that Cupil appeared from his bracelet form around Fina's delicate wrist. He floated around her head nonchalantly for a moment before shaping himself into a cutlass which Fina then took a firm hold on.

The first wave of enemies had now begun crossing the ropes. The few crew members with guns began firing, trying to take out as many as possible before the ship became overrun. It was now that Vyse was able to get a good look at the attackers. They were all wearing black robes with strange silver emblems adorning either side of their chest; they also wore black veils over their faces making it impossible to see their faces. Though they were all identical in uniform, together they had a menagerie of fighting styles.

"I can't have my crew fight all my battles for me." Vyse said as he watched the carnage. He pulled out his blades in a fighting stance. "Cover me." He said to Fina as he charged the field.

Fina followed at a short distance behind him, casting magic to not only increase Vyse' power but also to destroy the enemies. Vyse and his crew were easily disposing of the oncoming foes, but there seemed to be no end in sight to the veiled adversaries. It wasn't long before most of the deck had become blood stained, but the fear of death did not seem to bother these men.

"Damn it, they just keep coming." Vyse said to no one in particular.

As Vyse and his crew began falling victim to fatigue, the enemy's plan was now becoming more apparent. Simply throw fighters at Vyse and his crew until they are no longer able to keep their weapons up. Vyse looked around the deck and for the first time noticed someone that wasn't there who should be. He waited until there was a small opening between attackers.

"Has anybody seen Dean?" He asked aloud to his crew. Then Kori appeared from the masses.

"The last I saw him was when we were all below deck firing guns, once we started getting boarded he sort of disappeared."

"Damn it." Vyse cursed under his breath as another wave of enemies began attacking.

Vyse and his crew continued countering the assault the best that they could but signs of weakening soon became apparent.

"Vyse I don't think the crew can keep this up much longer, there's too many of them." Fina said.

"Just a little bit longer, there's no way that ship could hold many more people than this." He replied.

Suddenly there was a large break in the gap between attackers and those who had already boarded stepped back and remained oddly quiet. Then a lone figure appeared on the deck of the enemy ship. He wore robes which were similar to that of all the others, only his was more decorated than the rest. He was of a much larger stature than all the men, surely one of the largest men Vyse had ever seen. On his back was a long silver cape which was blowing in the wind. In his right hand he carried a large black trident. He seemed to be staring directly at Vyse through his veil.

"What do you want from me and my crew?" Vyse shouted.

The man remained silent, still watching of the battlefield. Then with almost no effort, the cloaked figure leapt high into the air landing across the deck in front of his men. Vyse and his crew were shocked to see this feat. Vyse then passed his crew to face the shadowy entity.

"I'll ask you again, what do you want from me and my crew?"

"Death." The figure replied in a very deep and commanding voice. With that he took his trident and swung it hard at Vyse who was barely able to dodge the attack. Vyse regained his balance and launched himself at the dark assailant. With an easy brush of his trident the attack was countered.

Before he could come up with a good plan of action, Vyse was distracted by a scream of pain from Fina. He turned to see her grasping at her chest in agony. The cloaked figure saw this as a perfect chance and using the broadside of his trident rather than the points, sent Vyse flying across the deck. Two crew members helped him to his feet. He then ran to his wife while several crew members attempted to take on the shadowy assassin.

"Fina what's going on?" He asked with great concern.

"I don't know, I'm getting a lot of pain from my silver crystal, it feels like it's radiating to the rest of my body. Vyse it really hurts." Tears began welling up in her eyes.

"Someone help!" Vyse shouted. Kjera and Lukas, another sailor on board, appeared with the plea. "Watch her while I go take care of this guy." With that he began walking back towards the leader of these attackers.

Again he launched himself at the cloaked figure, and again he was denied his attack. This time Vyse was able to dodge the sweeping trident and found his opening. He sent his cutlass deep into the chest of the dark figure. For a moment everything was still. There was not a single noise, not even when the blade had first pierced the man. Suddenly the figure grabbed Vyse around the wrist with a nearly crushing grip, and with a flick of his elbow the dark assailant sent him flying across the deck once again, this time Vyse landed on his feet. The crew was astounded at what happened next. Without even the slightest recognition of pain, the cloaked figure took hold of the cutlass still impaled in his chest and with a solid pull let it fall to the floor, not a speck of blood was left on the blade and the wound seemed to have closed behind it.

"I grow weary." The dark assailant said. Then he was surrounded by a blue aura. He began chanting a slipara spell. Many of the crew attempted to stop him, but they were thwarted by the remaining enemies on the deck.

Vyse began working his way over to Fina who was all but collapsed at this point. He could already feel the effects of the spell beginning to take hold. _Damn, he's powerful with magic too._ Vyse thought to himself. His only motivation now was keeping Fina safe, but every step he took made him feel like he was waist deep in mud.

He was inches away from Fina when the dark assailant had finished his incantation. A thick blue mist enshrouded the entire ship. Vyse could feel his eyes get heavy, he fell to the floor of the deck and began crawling to Fina trying to breathe as little as possible to avoid inhaling anymore of the mist. With what little energy he had left, he stretched his hand out to Fina and collapsed to the deck.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Vyse awoke in a sudden panic. As soon as he was fully conscious he sprang up prepared for a possible oncoming attack. He tried to get a feel for his surroundings, and then suddenly realized he was in his own room. For a brief moment he felt relief, but then the recollection of the past events flooded his memory. He scanned the room.

"Fina!" He shouted. There was no reply. He sat back down on his bed again trying to full remember what had happened earlier that day.

_There were ships, three of them, we took out one of them, and another was destroyed by the island cannon. The third one boarded us. We held them off for a while, but where is Dean? Then there was the big guy in the black robes. Damn, he was powerful. He knocked me back with a single strike. Dammit, where the hell is Dean? We need back up. Fina was screaming, clutching at her chest. What is going on? Then he starts a spell, some kind of blue magic, I try to get to Fina but I'm too weak from the spell. Then everything is black. Now I'm here._

Vyse stood from his bed and exited the room. The sun was barely setting in the sky. There was a strong smell of smoke and gun powder, he quickly picked up on why. Atop the island in the place of the cannon was nothing but black smoldering rock. Debris lay scattered at the foot of the crescent. "Foster… damn." Vyse muttered to himself as he continued his search for his beloved. There was an overwhelmingly sad air about the entire island. He grabbed Isaac, a low level crew member who was busy cleaning up remnants of the cannon.

"Isaac, can you tell me what happened?" Vyse said, trying to remain calm despite the twisting pain he felt deep within him.

"I'm not really sure; I was below deck with Dom trying to make sure no one tried to get to the engine when everything happened." He replied a bit shakily.

"Did anyone try to get through?"

"Well there were a couple of guys," he said covering a moderate sized wound on his arm, "but Dom and I took care of them pretty easily."

"That's good to hear. What about Aika? Do you know where I can find her?"

"Yeah I think," He stopped as he lifted a large piece of shrapnel, "I think she's over in those tents helping out some of the wounded."

"Thanks, and keep up the good work."

"Aye captain." He replied and went back to his work.

Vyse started to head towards the medical tents that had been set up on the north part of the island. He figured there must have been several crew members fairly badly injured judging by how many tents were set up, and the fact that they needed Aika (who wasn't much for healing spells) to help didn't bode well either. As he approached he could already hear the painful moans of his injured crew and the innocent civilians caught in the crossfire. Pulling back the flap on the tent stirred the smell of anesthetics, a little overpowering at first but Vyse quickly adapted. He spotted his red headed friend immediately; she was at the end of the tent administering some basic first aid to a sailor. She turned and spotted him approaching.

"Vyse! You're alright!" She said throwing her arms around him, spilling a bit of rubbing alcohol across the ground. "You were unconscious for several hours, we didn't think any of your injuries were too serious so we left you in your bed, we needed all the room we could get for the crew."

"Yeah, I'm fine, where's Fina?" He replied quickly, ignoring much of what she had said.

At that Aika let go of her grip around his shoulders, her gaze became somewhat distant. She was hesitant.

"Aika, what happened to Fina?" He said with more intensity in his voice.

"Vyse, they took her." She replied, still dodging eye contact, it was easier to avoid tears that way.

Vyse had now confirmed what he had suspected from the beginning, he knew his beloved was no longer on the island, he could feel it. He didn't even have to ask if they took her alive, he could feel that too. She was still out there, somewhere distant.

"Vyse what are we going to do? They took Fina away and blew up half our island! We have to go find them before they hurt her!" Aika began shouting with her usual passion.

Vyse tried his best to maintain his composure; he took a deep breath trying to avoid thoughts of the worst. "Relax Aika; they're probably just holding her for ransom. We've got a lot of money here and most of the world knows it by know, and if they're smart they won't lay finger on her, otherwise the only thing they're going to get from me is a slow death."

"Yeah, you're probably right, if they were going to hurt her they wouldn't have needed to take her captive." Aika replied now trying to calm herself.

"Besides, we're going to hunt them down and find them before they even get the chance." Vyse added with his usual confident smile. "In any case we need to start making some plans, is the elevator to our meeting room still operational? Is there even a room up there anymore?"

"Other than some broken glass from the windows being blown out everything is fine. Most of the damage across the island came from that explosion."

"That's right, Foster. Did he survive it? Is he alright?"

"He survived, but barely. He's badly injured, I've seen dead bodies that looked better than he does right now, but the doctor said he should be able to pull through."

"We have a doctor here? Was he one of the civilians?"

"Oh I guess you didn't know. Vigoro is here, the doctor is military."

"Vigoro? What is he doing here?"

"It's a long story; you'd better ask him yourself, I think he's outside somewhere helping to clear the rubble. That's really about all he's good for anyway." Aika said with a bit of jovial hostility.

"I'll do that, but first I'd like to see Foster, where is he?"

"He's in the next tent over."

"Alright, well I'll come back for you when we're ready to start planning our next move."

"Aye-aye captain." She replied.

Vyse pushed back the door/flap and left the tent. Before entering the next medical station and submitting his nose and lungs to the burning smell of anesthetics he took in a breath of fresh air. After a sufficiently deep inhale with a slow exhale, he entered the second medical tent. The crew in this area seemed to be in noticeably worse condition then that of the tent he was just in. He spotted a professional looking man in a white coat at the end of the long tent and assumed him to be the doctor. His assumption turned out to be correct. On the bed in front of him was a badly bruised, broken, and burned man he could barely recognize to be Foster. He was hooked up to all sorts of strange looking machines Vyse found none too familiar, Crescent Isle wasn't known for its sophisticated medical technology. Sitting at the bedside was a very concerned and exhausted Emily.

"Doctor, how is he doing?"

"Surprisingly well, in terms of his vitals anyway. As you can see most of his body is covered in first and second degree burns. He broke his right leg and arm, fractured his left arm, several of his toes and fingers are also badly broken, he has several large contusions and lacerations scattered about, and to top it off he has a pretty bad concussion. Frankly it's a miracle he even survived such a fall."

All of the sudden commotion began to rouse Foster from his sleep. His eyes were barely able to open through all the swelling.

"Foster?" Emily said a bit shocked.

"Em-Emily?" He replied with a weak and raspy voice.

"Oh Foster you're alright! I've been so worried about you!" She said building tears beneath her eyes.

"I-I think I'm okay, I can't really feel anything. Where am I? Captain is that you? I can't really see anything. I'm not going blind am I?"

"You're in a medical tent." Vyse replied. "You've got a lot of medicine in you right now, so you probably won't feel anything for a while, and your face is pretty swollen so that's probably why you're having a hard time seeing. The doctor says it's a miracle you're even alive right now."

"Oh." Foster replied, suddenly the events he had previously participated in came rushing back. "Captain? Did I… did I do it captain? Did I… get the ship? I think I… I think I got the shot off just in time, did I get them?"

Vyse smiled, "Yeah, you got them alright. Everyone on this island owes their life to you Foster; I think you've got a big pay raise coming your way."

Foster smiled, a few tears rolling down his cheek. "Good, but I don't really want a raise… maybe just a big golden plaque, or a statue, so everyone can… can remember what I did…" He said as he began to trail off back into sleep.

Vyse wasn't sure if that last bit was the drugs talking or if Foster was somehow able to keep his sense of humor through all of this. "Take care of him Emily." He said.

"Aye captain." She replied.

"And of course, you too Doctor."

"I'll do my best sir." He replied.

As Vyse left the medical station he thought to himself how strange it was being called sir, he was barely twenty after all and had only just gotten used to being called captain. Even with his own ship and "secret" island base, Vyse never felt like much of an authority figure. In any case he thought he should probably find Vigoro now and find out what he knew and what he was doing here in the first place.

Crossing the island Vyse was glad to see that for the most part his base was mostly unaffected by the blast. All of the structures on the west side of the island remained unharmed, however most on the east section were effected by the explosion in one way or another and had some degree of rubble strewn across them. A large portion of the cannon had managed to destroy the fountain. It was also here that Vyse spotted a group of men dressed in Valuan uniforms. He approached one who didn't seem to be too busy, the man quickly recognized and greeted him with a handshake.

"Captain Vyse, it's an honor to meet you, we're working our hardest to get the place cleaned up for you sir." He said.

_There's that word again,_ Vyse thought to himself. "Thank you, can you tell me where the Vigoro is? I'd like to ask him a few questions."

"The Admiral went below ground to find some supplies; he should still be down there."

"Thanks."

Vyse suddenly became a bit nervous; he wasn't quite sure what he was going to find when he got below ground. Having no recollection of how he got into his bed, he wasn't quite sure of the condition he was going to find his ship in. His nerves were put to rest when he entered the subterranean port and found it one piece. There were more men in Valuan uniforms hanging from the sides making repairs to the cannon damage along the hull. Vyse slid down the pole to the platform below and entered the bunker with the building supplies

Once inside Vyse found Vigoro inspecting one of the shelving units, apparently searching for something, and standing next to him was Dean. Upon suddenly seeing Dean a strange almost primeval rage began building inside him. With an unusual out of body disconnection Vyse charged Dean grabbed him with both hands at the collar of his shirt and threw him up against the wall. Neither Dean nor Vigoro had time to fully react as neither had known Vyse was even in the same room. Vyse tightened his grip.

"Where the hell were you when those men attacked the ship?" He shouted.

"Vyse calm down!" Vigoro interrupted. "I'm sure this is just a misunderstanding."

"No! This coward was down hiding in the ship when those guys attacked the ship and kidnapped Fina! He should have been on the deck fighting with the rest of us!"

"Is that what this is about?" Vigoro asked as he tried to pull Vyse off of the helpless young sailor. "Vyse I'll have you know I can vouch for him if you just put him down."

Vyse thought for a moment and then came to his senses. He put Dean down and backed away a few feet. "Alright, so what happened?"

"Well I was out on patrol with my men last night when we saw these strange looking ships, we could tell from the looks of them that they were older Valuan models, but they had some new paintjob. We decided to give them some room and try to follow them from far enough back that they wouldn't notice we were tailing them, but apparently they had some new engines too because they lost us pretty quick. We could tell they were heading for your island since it's the only thing out here worth seeing so we figured we would stop by just to make sure everything was alright. By the time we got here we saw Dean here on the deck of your ship fighting off a bunch of those guys in hoods, once they saw us coming they got on their ship and high tailed it out of here, we would have gone after them but from the looks of all the smoke and rubble we figured you guys could use some help so we stayed. Judging by the numbers of those guys I think you owe Dean your life."

"Captain," Dean started, "I'm sorry I didn't get to the deck sooner, but I wanted to check in with all of the other stations to make sure everything was okay. A few of those guys managed to sneak into the engine room and were going to sabotage it if Dom, Isaac, and I hadn't found them first."

The rage Vyse had been feeling earlier had now left and where it had been guilt now sat. "I'm sorry Dean; I really should have thought that through a bit more."

"It's okay, I understand. Were I in your position I probably would have done the same thing."

"Anyway, me and Aika were going to head up to our meeting room in a few minutes to plan the next move, you should probably come too."

"Alright then." He Replied.

"Vyse I think I should come too." Vigoro said. "I have some more information that may or may not be helpful."

"Okay, well why don't you two head up there now, I'll go get Aika and meet you there in a couple minutes."

"Sure thing." Dean replied. "Come on Admiral."

The three of them left the bunker and went above ground. On the surface Dean and Vigoro headed for the elevator platform while Vyse went back to the medical station. Once inside he grabbed Aika, who didn't seem to be too busy anymore.

"Well we're ready to start planning." He said.

"Alright, let's go." She replied.

The two headed back towards the elevator platform. Once they were both on Vyse flipped a lever and they started upwards.

"So how is everyone?" Vyse asked with deep concern in his voice.

"They're doing pretty well, we were lucky to come off of this one without any casualties, but there are a lot of pretty bad injuries." She said as the elevator came to a stop. The two continued across the platform, avoiding the broken glass.

"Well we're lucky no one died, and after seeing Foster I'm surprised we didn't lose at least one." Vyse said as he opened the door, letting Aika in first.

Inside Vigoro sat in a chair, balancing it on its back to legs, with his hands behind his head and feet propped up on a table, quickly taking them off as Vyse gave him a quick glare. Dean stood to the side admiring a piece of art hanging on the wall.

"Okay everyone," Vyse said, "we should probably get started. First of all, Vigoro said he had some information that might be helpful to us."

"That's right. Lately around Valua there's been a lot of theft, and not the usual theft of wallets and other valuables, I'm talking construction materials."

"Construction material?" Aika interjected. "What would someone want with a bunch of wood and concrete?"

"That's my point Red, and there sure haven't been any new buildings popping up lately. Not only has the crime rate been going up, but lately we've been seeing a lot of your friends in black, we figure they're some sort of cult."

"Do you think they're connected to the thefts?" Vyse asked.

"That's what we figure, since the two started happening around the same time; problem is we can never catch one of them to get any answers. Valua is a big crowded place with a lot of underground caverns and sewers to disappear into."

"Do you have any leads at all then?"

"Well we do have some eye witness reports from local merchants who say they've seen some guys in black and some weird ships hangin around the Maw of Tartas area. We figure their hideout might be somewhere around there."

"Or somewhere under there." Vyse added.

"Exactly, and our ships engines aren't retrofitted to get down into places like that, which means they've had some serious modifications to those ships they've been using."

"Well then you'll just have to leave it to us then."

"That's the way it seems. Vyse, why don't you go take care of those freaks in the robes and get your lady back, I'll stay here and make sure your island gets fixed up, should be good as new by the time you get back."

"Thanks Vigoro, that'd be great. Do you mind if I borrow a couple of your men while we're gone? Right now I'd be sailing without a full crew and I get the feeling I'm going to need one."

"No problem at all, just let me know what you need."

"Okay, Aika, Dean, let's get everyone ready to go. We're going to leave as soon as we possibly can."

"Aye-aye captain." The two replied in tandem as they left the office.

"Hey Vyse," Vigoro said, stopping Vyse before he left, "Good luck out there."

"Thanks." He replied.

Less than an hour later the engines of the Voyager hummed with life. The supplies had been stocked and all of the crew had boarded and were ready for whatever their captain asked of them. Vyse as always was the last one to board the ship, making sure all of the usual preparations had been followed. As he ascended the boarding ramp to the ship's deck, he was met by Dean who looked to have quite a bit on his mind.

"Dean, what are you doing on the deck? Shouldn't you be below with the others?"

"Vyse, there's something very important I have to tell you. I know I'm the last person you would trust your ship and crew's safety with right now, but it's absolutely paramount you listen to what I have to say."

"Alright Dean, what is it?"

"We can't go straight to the Maw of Tartas right now; we have to go back to Nasrad first."

"Nasrad? Why?"

"I can't tell you just yet, but there's something there we need. Without it we might as well just give up right now.

It was right now that Vyse was suddenly reminded of the first time they had met Fina and his father was interrogating her. Although they had no reason to trust her, she just seemed so sure of what she was doing. Even though all of his common sense was telling him not to trust this strange man he had only just met, his instinct and experience told him otherwise, and Vyse always went with instinct.

"Okay Dean, we'll go to Nasrad. But I'm putting a lot of trust in you, and if you betray that, well I'm sure you can guess what will happen."

"Thank you Vyse."

"Well you better get going; those guns aren't going to clean themselves."

"Aye captain." Dean replied as he went below deck.

"I hope I know what I'm doing." Vyse said to himself. "What the hell could be in Nasrad that's so damn important anyway?" He let out a deep sigh and headed for the bridge, "I guess I'm going to find out."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The sun was already setting in the western sky when the Voyager left for Nasrad. Usually traveling such a distance at this time of night, especially in such a frequently pirated area, warranted attack, however any Black Pirate in the area would quickly recognize the flag of Vyse and his crew and not even the bravest would attempt to challenge him. Occasionally there would be a young new pirate with something to prove, but by now most had learned their lesson.

The winds seemed to be on their side that night, a strong wind from the east caught their sails just right and if it kept up they would make record time to Nasrad, and advantage Vyse felt they desperately needed. The winds brought with them moist cool air, making the conditions on the deck very enjoyable considering the exceptional heat from earlier that day. Many of the crew members were taking their breaks above deck to enjoy the fresh air, as clean as they kept the innards of the ship there was no avoiding the slight mildewy scent of a long voyage.

As usual the details of the tripped weren't fully explained to the majority of the crew, but none of them seemed to be bothered by it, the majority of the time it wasn't their business anyway and if Vyse thought they needed to know he would tell them. A good crew after all followed orders without question.

While the crew either worked or waited below deck, Vyse stood alone at the helm. If it were any other night Vyse would have various crew members standing at the stations monitoring engine levels and assorted ship parameters, and of course he would have Fina standing at his side. However because he was lacking the latter, he didn't feel like enjoying the company of the former either.

Aika, too, was alone. She sat at a table in the corner of the mess hall watching clouds pass outside in the now darkening red sky. However she wasn't quite sure if she was alone by choice. She wouldn't mind a certain man's company right now but at the moment he was busy cleaning cannons, a job which usually took quite a bit of time. Not having Foster's help and the fact that Dean and Kori weren't particularly productive when put together didn't quite speed things up either.

As she watched the clouds breeze by and noticed the color of the sky gradually changing she soon realized they weren't heading straight for the Maw of Tartas, a piece of information Vyse had yet to divulge to her. Now wondering why they were heading into Nasrad, Aika decided to bring her question to the captain. When she reached the bridge she found the door to be locked, something that was so rare that she wasn't actually aware the door had a lock on it. She gave the door a light rapping with her knuckles.

"Vyse? Vyse it's Aika. Why don't you unlock the door and let me in?" She said with a slightly concerned toned. She waited a few seconds then heard the door unlock, Vyse was already back at the helm when she let herself in.

Aika stood to the right of Vyse, in the place where one would normally find Fina, which made both Aika and Vyse somewhat uncomfortable so she moved to the opposite side. The two stood in a somewhat awkward silence for a moment before Aika decided to break it.

"So I can't help but notice we're getting farther and farther away from the Maw of Tartas."

"We have to make a stop in Nasrad." He replied distantly.

"Nasrad? Why? We're all stocked up aren't we?"

"Well, apparently there's something there we need."

"And what's that?"

"I don't have the slightest idea."

"I'm a little confused."

Vyse let out a deep sigh. "Yeah so am I."

"So why exactly are we going to Nasrad."

"Well, Dean said we needed to."

"Dean?"

"Yeah, before I got on the ship he stopped me and said there was something in Nasrad that we needed."

"And you trusted him? That's a big step for you."

"Well, as much as I didn't want to, something about him just… I don't really know how to describe it."

"I think I know what you mean."

"I'm sure you do." He replied with a sly grin. "But in any case, now we're heading to Nasrad and we're going to find god knows what when we get there."

"Well it looks like this is turning into quite the adventure."

Vyse relieved another deep sigh. "Unfortunately."

"What do you mean?"

"As much as I enjoy our adventures, do they always have to come at such a cost? Can't we have one where someone we care about doesn't get kidnapped, killed, or eaten by some kind of monster?"

At this Aika's eyes found themselves on Vyse's scarred hands.

"The stress is going to put me in the ground before I'm forty." He added.

"You're right Vyse, but we really don't have a choice. The people of Arcadia have been through a lot, and they need us. We're the only people left who know how to stand up for ourselves, and maybe if we keep it up long enough everyone else will figure it out too. We have to be strong; we have to be examples for the rest of the world. It's completely unfair to us, but if we don't do it, no one else will."

After Aika's brief speech the two remained silent for a long period of time.

"You're right." Vyse said, finally breaking the silence. "But I just can't stop worrying about Fina. If they hurt her…"

"Vyse you can't think like that."

"I know, but no matter how much I try, it's always there in the back of my mind."

Aika slid her right hand into his left.

"Vyse you shouldn't have to worry so much, Fina's gotten a lot stronger since we first met her, I wouldn't be surprised if by the time we got there she had taken care of all those guys by herself and was just waiting for us to pick her up."

Vyse laughed a bit. "Yeah, you're probably right. I almost feel a bit bad for them."

The two laughed together.

"Thanks Aika." Vyse said, putting his arm around her shoulder.

"Well what are best friends for?" She replied. They stood together, enjoying each other's company for a moment. "Well do you think you'll be alright up here with out me for a while?"

"Yeah I'll be fine; I've got Cupil here to keep me company anyway." Hearing his name suddenly sparked the interest of the previously sleeping little silver orb who now revealed himself from around Vyse's wrist. With a friendly chirp it began hovering in circles a few inches from his head.

"I didn't realize Cupil was here." Aika admitted a bit confused. Cupil rarely if ever was known to leave the delicate wrist of its mistress.

"I didn't either, not until I found him wrapped around the helm; poor little guy probably hasn't had a very good day either." Vyse said as he stroked the underside of Cupil's chin, if one could identify the lower part of his head/body to have a chin.

"Well if you're alright with Cupil here I think I'm going to see if I can't get some answers out of Dean." Cupil gave another chirp to ensure Aika that Vyse would be under his steady eye.

"Heh, well go easy on him." He said giving her an impromptu slap on the rear. Both expected the other to have been made uncomfortable by this random act so neither chose to acknowledge it had happened.

Aika left the bridge and set off to find Dean. She assumed he would be below deck in the cannon room. Her assumption was correct as she had arrived just in time to see him leaving the room and walking towards her. He was nearly completely covered in sweat, grease, and old gun powder.

"Oh, Aika, what are you doing down here?" He said.

"I was looking for you actually, but I didn't think you'd be done cleaning the cannons already with just the two of you."

"Well we had a couple of Vigoro's men to help us so we actually got done a bit faster than usual, which is great and all but what I'd really like to do now is take a shower. I hate going on long voyages covered in all this crap."

The idea of Dean wet and completely nude in a steamy shower made Aika suddenly forget exactly what it was that made her come looking for him in the first place. Then she came to a strange realization.

"You can use the shower in my room!" She blurted abruptly.

"You have a shower in your room? On the ship? He said with a look of perplexity on his face.

"Well… yeah, Vyse doesn't really want us talking about it with the rest of the crew, no one actually knows besides us because there only two on the ship."

"One in yours and one in theirs I'm assuming?"

"Yeah, one for the Captain and one for the first mate."

"Well how did you come by that? I've never heard of plumbing on a ship before, except for on the Hydra, but that was more of a fortress than it was a ship."

"Well the engineer who built our ship said he would give us a better deal if we let him try out some of his new ideas on it. Apparently he's been trying make an effective indoor plumbing system for ships. It actually works a lot better than I thought it would, which isn't really saying much. You only get about five minutes of low pressure water, and the water tank is stored close to the engine so the heat really depends on how much power we're putting. Plus we have to refill the tanks pretty often, but we're not usually out long enough to need to take a shower anyway."

"Well it sounds a lot better than having to be covered in all this dirt and grime for a few more days. Are you sure you wouldn't mind?"

"Of course not." She said trying to hide the excitement in her voice.

"Alright, well let me go grab a change of clothes and I'll be over in a minute."

"Okay." As Aika watched Dean walk away a thought came to her mind. Her room, as usual, was a complete mess. She hadn't thought she would be having any attractive young men over and therefore there was nothing to necessitate a good room cleaning. She didn't want Dean to think she was a slob so she sprinted off to her room. When she arrived she began throwing clothes across the room into her dresser, when her dresser was full she simply forced the mess beneath her bed. She also made sure to clean up the bathroom itself a bit. She thought about how embarrassing it would have been had he seen her undergarments strewn about the place. She finished just as a knock came across the door.

"Aika, it's me." Dean said.

Aika pulled the door open. Dean was standing in the hall with a towel and change of clothes.

"Come on in, the shower is right over here." She said pointing towards the room which was obviously a bathroom. Dean moved in the direction of her finger. "It's pretty simple, you've just got to turn the knob, ignore the C and the H though they don't really do anything. And there's shampoo in there already, but you might come out smelling pretty girly."

"Heh, well smelling like a girl is better than smelling like a pile of old used socks. When I'm done why don't we go get something to eat in the mess hall?"

"That sounds good." She replied with a smile. "Do you want me to leave you to your privacy?"

"Well I can't very well kick you out of your own room now can I?"

She smiled again. "I guess you can't."

"Well I'll just be a minute. I was never one for long showers; of course with only a few minutes of water I guess I don't really have a choice do I?" With that Dean turned back into the small bathroom.

Aika returned to her dresser and attempted to clean up the mess she had made of it. The hinges of the door emitted a slow and piercing squeak followed by the sound of the door bouncing off of the frame. It was this second sound that caught her attention. She turned to see that the door was still very slightly cracked open; she figured he must have swung the door shut very lightly and would probably turn to close it in a moment once he realized this. But he didn't. She reasoned it would be a bad idea to leave the door open and let anyone discover the secret shower, so she sprang from the bed to close it completely. She walked very slowly to the door as she didn't want to be noticed. She reached for the doorknob but hesitated suddenly.

As she was about to close the door she couldn't help but catch a glance inside, increasing the time of her hesitation. She didn't really want to peek, at least she didn't want to get caught anyway, but she soon found herself staring with one eye into the bathroom through the narrow slit between the door and the frame, which was just large enough to let her see Dean, fully disrobed, peel back the shower curtain and step into the cascading water. Aika could still easily make out his figure behind the foggy plastic shower curtain. Her heart began pounding in her chest, even more so as she thought of the possible consequences there might be should Dean discover he was being watched. In a brief moment of panic, Aika all but slammed the door shut. Cursing under her breath, she hoped he had not heard the fairly loud noise the door had produced.

After an intense thirty or so seconds had passed Aika figured Dean had no idea she was watching him. After she calmed herself she laid back into her bed and for a moment thought back to what she had just witnessed, and smiled. A few more minutes had passed before Dean came out of the bathroom, fully dressed, still retaining a bit of water in his thick russet hair.

"Shall we be off then?" He said with a grin.

Aika smiled but didn't say anything as she got to her feet and walked with him to the mess hall. She suddenly found herself having a hard time getting that image out of her head. The two arrived at the mess hall, which now had several crew members socializing in it, grabbed a plateful of whatever the temporary Valuan chef had prepared and sat at the end of one of the corner tables.

"So what was it you came down to talk to me about anyway?" Dean had asked as they had both gotten about half of the way through their meals. "Surely it wasn't all just an elaborate plot to get me into the shower so that you could peek at me through the door." He said with a devilish smile.

Aika dropped her fork and her face turned for more red than the moon which could currently be seen out the starboard window. Dean laughed a bit.

"Ha-ha, it's alright. I mean I can see the appeal." He said with the same mischievous smile Vyse had when there was something in the area to plunder.

Aika's face began to return to its' normal shade. "Well how do I know you didn't leave the door open like that on purpose?" She said, countering his smirk with one of her own. "For all I know you wanted me to come and peek at you."

"Ha, so you've figured it out have you?" He said, impersonating the voice of a classic melodrama villain.

"And wouldn't you have peeked at me if I were the one showering with the door open?" She added.

Dean thought for a moment. "See now that's a loaded question." He said. "If I say yes you'll get mad at me for being a pervert, but if I say no you'll get mad because you'll think I'm implying you're not worth peeking at."

"It just so happens that the loaded question technique is what women have been using to crush the souls of men for centuries."

It was after this remark that the two began nearly roaring with laughter over the entire situation and conversation that had followed it. Once the two had finally stopped laughing Aika got her mind back on track.

"So Dean, why is it exactly that we're heading to Nasrad instead of Valua? That seems like the opposite of what we would want to do."

"It's sort of a secret."

"Well surely you can tell me." She said batting her eyes in his direction.

"I'm sorry, but I really can't." He said getting a bit more serious. "We're close to Nasrad now, it won't be much longer."

Aika let out a profound sigh

"It's not that I don't trust you Aika, the problem is I can't really explain what it is we're going to Nasrad for. You'll just have to see for yourself when we get there."

"Alright, I guess I'll just have to take your word for it."

Dean gave her another one of his debonair smiles, which was followed by a powerful yawn. "I think everything that's happened today has finally caught up with me; I believe it's about time I should be getting to bed." He said as he stood from the table, Aika followed him.

"Yeah we fit about a weeks worth of excitement into a single day." She replied. "Maybe I should be getting to bed too, I have a feeling I'm going to need my rest here in the next few days."

"Yeah I get that feeling too. C'mon I'll walk you to your room."

The two walked down the short corridor to Aika's quarters in relative silence, the only audible sound being the slight creaks in the floorboards which was hushed when they reached her door.

"Well, it's certainly been an interesting day." She said, trying to force the awkward "goodnight" conversation.

"Yeah I guess that's about the best way to describe it. So I guess I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Uh-huh. I can't wait to find out what this little secret of yours is, if the wind keeps up the way it is we should be there early tomorrow."

"Oh well I look forward to showing it to you." Another uncomfortable silence began to grow between them. "Right, well I better be off then." Dean placed his hands on Aika's hips and put a soft kiss on her lips. She returned the deed. Afterwards he began to head back towards the crew quarters.

"Dean!" Aika shouted down the hall before he got too far. He stopped just at the end, allowing her to catch up to him. "Maybe tonight… we could do like we did last night?" She said slightly flustered.

Aika's words were returned with a simple smile. Dean took her hand and the two headed back towards her room. Once there he began removing his pants which earned him a strange look from Aika.

"Sorry you don't mind do you? I have a really hard time sleeping with pants on, very uncomfortable."

Aika grinned. "No problem at all." She smiled even more when she saw the strange tie-dye boxer shorts he had on. "Those sure have an interesting design."

"Oh yeah, standard issue underwear in the Armada, even Galcian wore a pair of these babies." He said sarcastically.

Aika laughed as she pictured the once feared Lord of the Armada in nothing but a pair of tie-dye underpants. Still smirking a bit, she changed into her own bedtime attire, which was generally the versatile shorts she was wearing and a simple tank-top, and let her hair down.

After the two were adequately prepared Aika allowed Dean to get into bed first. Once he was comfortably situated she crawled under the covers next to him and gently placed her head just below his on his chest, wrapping one arm around his shoulder and the other behind his back. He placed a soft kiss on the top of her head and put his arms across her back. Before she fell asleep Aika took in one last deep breath. Dean still smelled like a girl.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

The sun shone brightly the next morning in the lightly red tinged Nasrean skies. With the winds backing them the entire night, Vyse and his crew were able to make a very quick trip out of what was usually at least a day and a half's journey.

Having no time to waste, Vyse and Aika followed Dean as he moved through the crowded central cluster of the city and began working his way back into the remnants of the old bazaar where Dean and Aika had first met.

"Watch your footing." Dean said. "There's still quite a bit of rubble and broken glass back here, apparently this is one of the last places the new Nasrean government feels they need to restore."

As they ventured deeper and deeper into the old bazaar the conditions worsened. There were completely inhospitable smoke charred buildings and tents on all sides making it seem more like a war-torn wasteland than anything else.

"I think we're being followed." Vyse said so suddenly Aika almost jumped a bit.

"You think so?" Aika asked.

"Yeah, I think have been for a while now actually." The trio stopped.

"Who would want to follow us into a place like this?"

"Angry mobs maybe." Dean suggested. "Angry at me that is. Still blaming me for what happened for some reason."

"I think we would hear an angry mob coming." Vyse replied. "And I think our stalker is less of a who and more of a what." He said pointing behind a large pile of rubble. "Aika why don't you go check it out?"

"Me? Why does it have to be me? For all we know it's some kind of pissed off ghost looking to get revenge on Dean for blowing up his house!"

Dean laughed a bit. "I was on shore leave when that happened you know, I had nothing to do with it! Besides, I've lived here for like the past two years, if there was a pissed off ghost looking to get revenge on me I think I would have run into him by now."

"Alright fine," Vyse said, "I'll go check it out."

A slight tension filled the air as Vyse walked the short distance to the pile of rubble. He bent slightly to investigate whatever it was lurking behind the debris. Then he chuckled a bit.

"Yeah Aika, it looks like you really had something to be scared of." He dipped forward more and when he had stood back up he was holding a small black cat. He walked back to the other two pirates. The cat was purring loudly as Vyse scratched it behind its ears.

"Seems like a pretty friendly guy." He said. "Maybe we should keep him; things have been a little lonely about the island ever since Pow went back to Pirate Isle to stay with Alan and the kids."

"Vyse!" Aika interjected, "Don't you know it's incredibly bad luck to bring a black cat with you on a ship?"

"And so is having women on board", He replied, "Which is something I've been wondering about for quite some time now." This remark caused a bit of a laugh from both Vyse and Dean.

"Well alright, but don't blame me when a fire starts for no reason."

"Ha and who do you think is more likely to start a fire, this cat or you?"

Aika sighed. "There's just no getting through to you is there?" Aika looked at the cat for brief moment. "I guess he is kind of cute." She said taking the cat from Vyse and cradling it her arms.

"What are we going to name it?"

"I don't know, as long as you don't get to decide."

"Why not?"

"Are you kidding? The last animal you named was Pow."

"Pow's a good name."

"Pow is the sound that Huskras make Vyse. That would be like if we named this cat meow. I mean honestly, who names an animal after the sound that it makes?"

"Yeah I guess I could have been a bit more creative."

"We're here." Dean said, having been quiet the last few minutes.

Vyse and Aika reassigned their attention from their new found pet to the large tent in front of them. It was the only structure they had seen for quite some time that was still in tact.

"Is this where you had been staying?" Aika asked.

"Oh no, my old place is around here somewhere, this one belongs to someone else, someone a bit more important." Dean pulled back the tent flap and held it open for the other two. "Well after you." Dean said with his usual smile.

Aika entered first followed by Vyse who eyed Dean suspiciously. The two were surprised to see all manner of strange machinery inside the tent, the likes of which they had only seen when they were in the Great Silver Shrine and Soltis. Sitting in the center of the room on the floor with a large pillow was a fairly well bit man who looked to be just over the hill wearing white robes similar to those of the elders on the Shrine. He also wore a white band across his eyes. The two assumed he was blind.

"Ah Vyse, Aika come in. It is good to finally meet you." He said. The two were startled that they were so easily recognized by someone who could not see.

"Vyse, Aika, I'd like to introduce you to my father, Samson."

"You're father?" Aika said, still shocked at all the sudden revelations. "I thought your family died in the rains?"

"Well yes, my mother and sister did. My father had left remember?"

"Something I never wanted to do." Samson added.

"How did you know who we were?" Vyse asked, ignoring the new information about Dean's past.

"Vyse I've been around a very long time, I can always recognize the presence of someone as heroic as you."

Something in his words set off a spark inside Vyse's mind. "Wait, you wouldn't happen to be… no, there's no way it could be true."

"Oh I believe you have figured it out Vyse, go ahead and say it."

"You really are? You're Samson the great Silvite hero."

"I am indeed."

"Vyse what are you talking about?" Said Aika with great confusion, "Who is this guy?"

"He's probably the most powerful Silvite mage that ever lived. Fina told me all about him. He single handedly defeated Recumen, and was the one who put Yeligar to sleep and sealed him in the maw of Tartas."

"But that's impossible. He would have to be almost two thousand years old, even the elders on the shrine needed those machines to keep them alive as long as they had been, and they still showed signs of aging; he looks younger than your dad!"

"Well it looks like we already know much more about each other than you had originally thought." Samson said, ignoring the remark about his age. "But I assure you I was not alone in my dealings with the Gigas. No I had a partner by the name of Alastor."

"That's strange, Fina never mentioned anyone by that name."

"No she wouldn't have. The Elders kept information of him hidden deep in the chamber of knowledge, it's unlikely that any Silvites would know that name any longer. However Vyse, you do know him. In fact you had the rather unfortunate pleasure of meeting him on the deck of your ship yesterday."

"You mean… that guy in all the black robes? That was your old partner? Alastor?"

"That was indeed the man with whom I had fought so many battles alongside."

"Well can you tell me what the hell he wants with my wife?"

Samson let out a long sigh. "Vyse, Aika, why don't you two sit down? I have a rather long tale to tell the both of you; I'd like you to be comfortable. Dean why don't you get them something to drink? There are a couple bottles of Loqua sitting around here somewhere."

Dean found the two bottles and four glasses. He poured a bit of the scarlet liquid in each glass and handed them out. After he was finished he took a seat next to Aika. The large tent had fallen silent except for the soft purring of the ebony cat resting in Aika's lap.

"Know that you're all comfortable; tell me Vyse, what do you know of the Black Moon?"

"The Black Moon? Well it's sort of a myth isn't it? Most people don't believe there is or ever was a black moon."

"Yet you and your crew are credited with discovering black moonstones inside the dark rift are you not?"

"Well yeah but there's no real evidence of it. If there was one we should be able to see it floating in the sky with the other six, or there should be effects of its gravity or some of that scientific mumbo jumbo."

"I take it you don't believe in its existence either? Tell me then, where could those moonstones have come from if not the black moon itself?"

"Well… I dunno actually, I've never really thought about it."

"You've heard the phrase, "you learn something new every day" correct? Today you two are going to learn something no one on Arcadia has known since before the Rains of Destruction. You'll no doubt believe me a heretic at first but I only ask that you listen to all of what I say before passing judgment."

Vyse and Aika locked eyes and exchanged looks of grief and confusion.

"Alright, go ahead." Vyse replied.

"I'll have you know that such a moon does exist now and has been here all along. You have seen it every day since your birth and will see it every day until you either die or lose your sight. The reason no one has ever acknowledged the black moon is because it is in disguise."

"Disguise?" Aika asked, sporting a very bewildered visage.

"Yes, for you see Vyse, Aika, Arcadia itself, the world we live on, is in fact the black moon."

The room became very quiet and very uncomfortable for all who were present, except for the small cat which had wondered from Aika's lap and was too busy drinking from an old mug to be bothered with such strange information.

"Well I've certainly got some judgments," Vyse said, "but I'll let you finish your story before I express any of them."

"Believe me," Dean added, "the story only gets stranger."

"You've heard about this?" Aika asked.

"Oh yeah, plenty of times." He replied. "Sorry to interrupt father, please continue."

"Very well then, I shall start from the beginning. Not of the story of course, but the beginning of time for our planet. As strange as it sounds this planet or this moon I should say, did not have life begin to grow on it naturally as many scientists currently think, but rather it was discovered."

"Discovered by who?" Vyse asked.

"Of that I'm not entirely certain. The information I have on our discoverers, our creators, vaguely if ever refers to them before the creation, but I can tell you what I do know. Several millennia ago an ancient race, an incredibly powerful and advanced civilization of what appeared to be humans who traveled the universe in great ships, came across our six colored moons all orbiting the center black moon. Upon studying this system they discovered great power hidden deep inside of each moon. They had apparently decided that our planet would make a good temporary home. So they built a great machine and placed it in the center of the moons when they were all in a prefect circle around our planet. In order to power this great machine they drilled deep beneath the surface of the black moon and using a powerful mineral found at its core, they forged the black moon crystal."

"There's a black moon crystal?" Aika said almost skeptically.

"Indeed there is, the power of harnessing moonstone energy into crystals was a method that each civilization mimicked from this first crystal. It was indeed the father to all the other crystals and as such had power over all the moons, it was able to amplify or reverse the affects of all the other moons. The power of the black and blue moons together is what keeps island floating in the sky. Black and red are why Nasrad is so hot, and Glacia was so cold because of the black and purple moons."

"Sounds like this black moon stuff is pretty serious business." Aika said laden with sarcasm.

"Believe what you will. Let me continue with my story. After having fashioned the planet our creators left their ships and began to live on and explore the land, they soon found all manner of basic life forms had begun to develop due to the power of the green silver and black moons. Of course evolution had its course and tribes of humans began to sprout all over the land. Our creators knew that sharing their vast knowledge with them would only lead to war as it always had, so they abandoned and destroyed any of their own settlements across the lands and secluded themselves to their own large island away from all of the other civilizations."

"Soon however, the other civilizations began inventing machinery and means of transportation. Once they had begun to discover each other our creators knew war was inevitable. Having decided long before that they could not intervene, they left our world to us. But before leaving they sent their great machine along with their land and their legacy deep beneath the surface of the planet. Centered directly above it they created the dark rift, which they hoped would not only keep their previous presence undiscovered but also separate the other civilizations and prolong war. And at the very center of the dark rift, they left the black moon crystal. Then of course, you know what happens next."

"The creators were right; war engulfs the planet, and the elders call down the rains." Dean said.

Aika was silent for only a moment. "You guys are crazy right? I mean you don't honestly expect us to believe this do you? Aliens traveled across the universe and made our planet and then just left? That doesn't make any sense! Right Vyse?"

Vyse thought for a moment. "I think… I think that if Fina was here, she would believe you, and so would I. So I guess Aika I'm going to go out on a limb here and say this guy is telling the truth."

"Vyse you can't be serious! He doesn't even have any proof!"

"Of course I do." Samson said. He then reached inside of his cloak and produced a black half-orb shining brilliantly. "This is my proof; this is the black moon crystal."

"How do we know that isn't just some shiny rock you found?"

"Aika please." Dean said, the look on his face was one that appeared to be hurt. Aika felt a bit of remorse for this.

"Sorry. I'll shut up now."

"It's alright," Samson said, "I doubt I would have believed it either if I hadn't had it thrust into my mind the way I did."

"What do you mean?" Vyse asked.

"Well now that I've told you the story of Arcadia, I think it's time I tell you my story and that of my old friend Alastor. As you know I was once a great and powerful mage and as I was so was he. We along with a few others had been sent down after the rains to deal with the Gigas. The two of us traveled the world together and became great friends. After dealing with Recumen we needed to head east to take on Bluheim, Alastor being the adventurer he was thought it would be more interesting to go through the dark rift rather than over it as was planned. And so we did."

"As you well know the Dark Rift is a very unusual place with even more unusual creatures living it, but it was when we reached the center of the rift that we found the thing which was to be the most unusual of all. In the very center there were several large black moonstones floating about, no doubt debris left over from when the island and the great machine were sent to the depths, but they all orbited a very small crystal at the very center. This center crystal absorbed what light made it's why into the center of the rift and gave it the appearance that it was glowing. Of course we were attracted to it as well."

"We took our ship as close to it as we could, and when I reached out to touch it time and space froze around me. Much like your experience in the chamber of knowledge, all the history of Arcadia since the creation of the black crystal was shown to me and now lives in my memory as if I experienced it myself. Alastor had the same experience."

"We studied it there in the dark rift for months, even ignoring our duty to defeat the Gigas. The strange thing was that no matter how we tried, we could not move the crystal from the center of the rift. We theorized that other civilizations were able to create moon crystals because like us they discovered the black crystal in the rift, but being unable to move it they duplicated it the best they could. It was likely the black crystal was the cause of a great technological revolution back in those times."

"Well then how did you end up with it here?" Vyse asked.

"It was simple actually. So simple it's no wonder no one would have ever thought of it, we cut it in half. Using a blade infused with silver magic we were able to cut through it into two perfect halves, one of which I hold now."

"I assume Alastor has the other?"

"That is correct."

"So what happened then? Between you and Alastor?"

"Several things happened after we dissected the crystal. We first discovered that by possessing part of the crystal our abilities were greatly strengthened. Our magic became unbeatable, our strength immeasurable, our speed undetectable, and after an accident with Yeligar we also found ourselves to be completely immortal."

"I guess that explains the two thousand year old life span." Aika said.

"Indeed it was very powerful, but of course we both knew its true power, to be able to raise the great machine, and once again activate it."

A look of fear shot across Vyse's face. "That's what he's planning isn't it? He wants to bring back that machine?"

"That is correct."

"But why? He didn't sound like homicidal type.

"Another side effect of the crystal schism. You see Vyse I believe that when the creators left the crystal here, why they didn't send it below with the machine I have yet to figure, they left several securities devices in place to ensure that no one would ever misuse the great power it possessed. First and most obviously was the dark rift, but of course that would only work for so long. So they made it impossible to move from its place, which of course would only work as long as it was in place. So it was inside the crystal they left the final security measure."

"You see when we split the crystal the two of us went blind, that is to say we became blind to light. By whatever power Alastor and I are able to see the energy of the moons. All around me I see darkness, but inside this darkness I see shapes of buildings and humans all emitting the energy of the moons. For instance I see you and Aika in a silver glow because you were born under the silver moon, just as I see Dean in a yellow glow and that cat there in red. It was this same power that made us invisible to each other, as long as one of us was holding part of the black crystal anyway. The black crystal absorbs the energy of the person holding it making them invisible to someone like me."

"Of course it wasn't until much later that I discovered the reason for this. It seemed that the creators knew eventually someone would want to summon the great machine, so rather than wait for it to happen they would force it to happen on their own terms so that it could be dealt with more easily. When we cut the crystal in half, one half contained a benevolent energy and the other near pure evil. I believe it's obvious who got which end."

"Over a short period of time this energy began to drive him mad, he began talking of erasing this planet and starting over. It was beginning to be clear to me what was happening, and I knew what had to be done. Unfortunately at the time I wasn't aware of a means to kill him, and even I did he was able to become invisible to me so it would be impossible for me to strike. So I did the only thing I could, I marooned him inside the Maw of Tartas shortly after we had sealed away Yeligar. As the other Silvites returned to the shrine I opted to stay behind, stating that I wanted to watch over the people and their growing civilizations."

"But you were really just trying to find a way to kill Alastor."

"Yes, because I knew that no matter what he would never give up trying to resurrect that terrible machine. And I believe now he has found a way."

"Silver moon crystals."

"I thought you would have figured it out. They are very powerful and very mysterious but I believe that they do indeed have the power to resurrect the machine when combined with the energy from his half of the black moon crystal."

"So why kidnap Fina? Why not just take her crystal right when he had the chance."

"I believe that was his original plan, but Dean intervened."

"How did you stop him?" Aika asked.

"Well just as he was about to finish off Vyse I snuck up and took off his hands and one of his legs, although I'm sure he's grown them back by now." He replied.

"He can do that?" Aika said, a bit more shocked this time.

"Yes, and I can as well, as long as I have a few moments to focus on the wound. But I believe he still sees you as a threat Vyse, he knows as well as I do just how resourceful you can be."

"So it is a trap." Vyse stated bluntly. "I figured as much, he's keeping her alive so I'll come and he can kill us all."

"That is one reason. He really has no reason to kill her just yet. The machine can only work when all of the moons having encircled Arcadia in a perfect circle, something which only happens once a century and is happening at the end of this week. I'm afraid right now he's more than likely enforcing some sort of emotional torture on her and enjoying it too, his sadism knows no bounds at this point."

Vyse began feeling a familiar feeling of rage building in his depths. "But you must have figured it out then? A way to beat him? Why else bring us here?"

"Indeed I have Vyse. As I said the black moon crystal can amplify the properties of moon stones, but it can also reverse them. If you were to strike Alastor with two blades, one infused with silver properties and the other with black, this would cause the power that made him immortal to reverse and he would cease to live. That is why I need you Vyse. You must go to the Maw of Tartas and challenge Alastor, using the power from my black crystal infused into your cutlass and silver moon energy into your blade you can defeat him and once again keep arcadia at peace."

"Well then let's get to it, let me see that crystal."

"I think it's better if I do it, I'm not sure what will happen if you touch it."

Nodding in agreement Vyse handed over his cutlass to Samson who lightly touched his half crystal to the sharp edge which changed from luminous silver to a strange black light.

"There, keep it sheathed until the moment you need it, do not let it touch any other moonstones between now and then."

"I'll keep it safe."

"Good, you must be off then. The sooner you deal with this threat the better. Remember Vyse, he is like nothing you have ever faced before, not only in his strength but in his character. He isn't a tyrant seeking to create a new world order, if he succeeds in raising the machine, all that ever was, including human life, will be erased."

"Yeah, no pressure." Dean added, attempting to break the tension.

"Well then, Dean, Aika, let's get going, we've got a planet to save."

Aika remained silent but stood to leave as well making sure to grab her new pet before leaving, her face read serious and worried. She with the others headed for the opening in the tent. For the first time since they had been there Samson rose from his position on the floor.

"Vyse." He said.

"Yes?" Vyse replied.

"With your allies at your side you'll hardly need it, yet I am still compelled to say. Good luck."


	10. Chapter 10

**~~Author's Notes~~****As a bit of a warning I feel that I should tell you that Chapter ten gets a little steamy, well actually a lot steamy, so much so that I almost changed the rating to M. But let's just be mature he shall we? People have sex. Yeah I know sounds pretty gross but it happens, quite frequently actually. So if that bothers you I would just skip this chapter. You can flame me if you want but I don't know what good it will do because I'm not changing anything. I find it hard to believe that young adult pirates with their own ship and private island who live in a time where there are few powers to challenge them wouldn't be having sex so if that bothers you, again please just skip this chapter. It adds nothing to the plot, it's just character development and fluff, the latter of which being my forte`. For those of you who can handle it, enjoy. **

Chapter 10

A storm was growing on the horizon. Of course that was Valua. The empire with which they had once had a sworn vow to bring down once again held a powerful threat to the entire world. On the Voyager sailed, straight into imminent danger as Vyse and his crew always had. The feeling Vyse now held at the pit of his stomach was similar to the one he felt when sailing head on into the Armada.

Again he chose to tell the crew as little as possible. Although he knew his were the bravest, he thought telling them there was a possibility of the world ending before the end of the week might cause a bit of a panic. So it was up to the three of them to share the burden.

Now was a time for strategy. They had decided that rather than go the predictable route of charging in from the underground passage they had used previously to retrieve the yellow crystal they would descend through the crater left in the place of the old seal, they had hoped that there would be less security around this area. Of course, they were certain of nothing.

Vyse was again alone on the bridge save for the helmsman, but Vyse was far too involved in attempting to create a last-minute plan to notice anyone else. Aika was also alone, standing on the deck watching the clouds approach. She wished for someone else to stand beside her but at the same time didn't. But whether she did or didn't matter any longer as Dean approached from the bowels.

"Hey, mind if I come stand next to you here?" He asked.

"Of course not." She replied.

"So how's the cat?" He asked, attempting to make conversation.

"He's good, last I saw he was napping on my bed, I left him a bowl of water and bit of fish."

"Name him yet?"

"I haven't really decided on anything, but I'm leaning towards Dac."

"Dac? As in short for Daccat?

"Well it only makes sense that a pirate cat would have a pirate name right?"

"Heh, I guess you're right."

There was an uncomfortable air between them for a moment's time before it was broken by Aika.

"You didn't hug him." She said.

"What? Oh you mean Samson?" He seemed to be caught off guard by this remark.

"I mean your father. You didn't even say good-bye."

"Well no I didn't. He and I aren't exactly close, not hugging close anyway. Being some kind of all powerful being doesn't change the fact that he walked out on us, without even the slightest explanation."

"But you never know if you're going to see him again. You only get one set of parents, real parents anyway." She paused, and then let out a sorrowful sigh. "I would have given anything to be able to hug my parents before they died, or even gotten to say good-bye."

The clouds waxed closer and closer, lightning could be seen in the distance and thunder heard in its wake, and the winds began to pick up as well. Aika let her hair down, allowing the wind to play with it.

"Speaking of my parents." She said as she attempted to suppress the painful memories. "Every time we come to Valua I try to overcome my fear of storms. I stand out here on the deck by myself and try to take it head on." The ship was full into Valuan skies with blue fading quickly behind them. Aika felt her strength waver and she commenced to move slowly for the door. "But I chicken out every time."

She had nearly left before Dean stopped her. "Aika wait." He shouted over the roaring thunder. She stopped just outside the door and he approached her.

"You're right." He said. "I shouldn't hold anything against him anymore. I've had my whole life to be angry at him and now it just isn't worth it anymore." Now she turned and faced him. "And you know what I'm going to do the next time I see him? I'll give him a big hug. A big one for both of us and for both of our families." Rain started to fall.

"Well good." She replied with as big of a smile as she could muster. The following blast of thunder quickly took the smile away. "I think I better go now." She said wincing at the lightning striking the nearby mountains.

"I want to try to help you with that." He said.

"And how would you do that? I think I'm a lost cause at this point." She replied.

"Come here." He said as he extended his had, which quickly found warmth in hers. The two walked slightly farther out into the deck. The rain started to fall harder getting both of them quite wet. He pulled her tight, wrapping his arms around her; one on the back of her head, the other on her lower back.

"Just hold on tight." He said.

She closed her eyes and did so wrapping her hands around his waist and allowing herself to be temporarily affixed to him. Every crash of thunder caused her to jump a little and as a reaction to which he would squeeze her a bit tighter. They kept this system going for a verbally silent fifteen minutes. Dean felt her heart rate lower gradually over this time.

"Feeling better?" He asked.

"A lot." She replied as she nuzzled her face deeper into the warmth of his body. She noticed his heart rate began to steep considerably.

"You know Aika I've been thinking."

"I don't like the sounds of that." She replied with a jovial tone.

"I know we've only known each other for a couple of days," he started, "but I'm pretty sure I love you." He forced out. He felt her grip on him loosen somewhat. She pulled her face away and met his eyes with hers.

"You're pretty sure?"

"Well yeah, like ninety-seven percent sure."

She smiled a planted a deep kiss on his lips, one which lasted several seconds. When their lips left she kept her face close enough to his that their noses still touched.

"I'm pretty sure I love you too."

She once again met his lips with hers. The two kissed passionately on the deck, ignoring the poor weather conditions as the rain continued to fall. It wasn't until Dean attempted to run his fingers through her air that they noticed how wet they had become.

"Maybe we should continue this in my room?" Aika suggested.

"Well I certainly can't say no to that." He replied with his devilish grin.

The two nearly sprinted the short distance to Aika's quarters from the deck. The sudden commotion they made as they entered through the door caused Dac to seek shelter beneath the bed. Once their privacy was secured Aika nearly tore the shirt right off of Dean's sculpted chest. His shirt along with hers made a fairly distinct plop sound as they both landed soaking wet on the floor.

Kissing all the way, Aika helped Dean out of his pants as he aided her in removing her shorts revealing black panties to match her bra. Aika stopped suddenly and shivered a bit.

"It's freezing." She said.

"Well I think we're both dry enough we can make use of that bed over there." He replied.

Aika beat him to it. She quickly got beneath the covers and gave him a look of invitation. He joined her immediately. Again they kissed passionately, rolling around beneath the sheets. Dean soon discovered Aika preferred to be in charge and so let her. As she pinned him to bed she let his hands venture further, exploring their new playground.

His fingertips maneuvered slowly down her back as if counting every vertebra, a gesture which tickled just enough to interrupt her normal breathing pattern. His hands stopped when they discovered the slight indentations at the base of her lower back and he began to rub them ever so slightly with the tips of his fingers.

He ventured slightly beneath her back dimples and stopped once more unsure as to how she might react if he risked going any further. He played with the elastic waistline of her underwear before deciding to make his gambit. Bypassing the thin and flexible black barrier he took a firm grip on her hind quarters with both hands, ushering a loud shallow breath from Aika.

She then rose up from the covers, still straddling Dean, revealing most of her upper body. He hands then began to move towards her upper back in an attempt to reveal the rest.

"Wait." Dean said. Aika wasn't expecting those to be his next words. "Are you sure you want to do this? I don't want to feel like I'm taking advantage of you because there's a possibility of the world ending."

"Of course I want this. Remember half an hour ago when I said I love you?" She replied. "And if we didn't now I'm sure we would after the party they throw us for saving the world."

"Ha-ha yeah I guess that's true. Of course who says we can't do both?"

Aika leaned forward and imparted more kisses on and around his lips. She then sat upright again and with her nimble fingers unhooked her bra and let it slide down her shoulders casually tossing in a pile with the rest of her clothes.

Dean decided now was the time to take charge and rolled Aika onto her back. Utilizing hands, lips, and tongue, Dean soon became very well acquainted with her newly unlocked parts of Aika's body, something she very much enjoyed even more than he.

In A few minutes time the rest of their under garments had been temporarily disposed of, but before making the first big move Dean made sure to run through every bit of foreplay he knew of.

Then he had her just where he wanted her. The stage was set. On her back, legs spread just wide enough for him to work between, she prepared herself for what she knew was to come next. He pulled away from lips and hesitated for a moment, looking into her eyes for that final approval which came in the form of a very soft sensual kiss. Ever so slowly he moved inward with just enough force. Aika gasped slightly at the sudden intrusion.

The two began to move in the same slow syncopated motion of the ship rocking forward and back at an unhurried pace making sure to enjoy these moments for as long as possible. Gradually Dean began to increase the tempo of the symphony their two bodies were creating. As he did so Aika began taking a firmer grip on his back, it was his luck that she didn't prefer her nails long.

As he started to move with more ferocity the beautiful opus they had been making earlier now became more of a cacophony of sweaty pleasure filled moans. Her back arching in the sexual bliss Aika released one last cry of satisfaction before the two reached their final ecstasy together.

Dean was still positioned over Aika breathing heavily. He left a lingering kiss on her lips and rolled slightly to the right keeping a hand lying across her bare stomach with one fingertip finding solace in her navel. She turned to face him and smiled imparting another kiss.

"I love you." She whispered.

"I love you too."

The room and its occupants became very silent and still. Aika shivered with delight as Dean traced his hands across her outer curves. She buried her face in his chest, letting the thin hairs tickle her slightly. The rumbles of thunder could still be heard, if somewhat muffled, which reminded the lovers of the task at hand shaking them from their warm romantic fantasy.

"I think we ought to get some sleep." Dean said. "We'll be outside of the maw in just a few hours and it would be better if we were well rested for what's to come."

"You're probably right." She said placing a kiss on the ridge of his clavicle. She let out a soft sigh. "Why don't you get the lights?"

Dean nodded, left the bed, and flicked the switch at the far end of the room, Aika watching him all the way. When he returned to the soft white sheets Aika turned on her side, making herself more comfortable. Dean slid in close placing a hand across her stomach and pulled her tight until they were like two perfect circles entwined. Spooning was something Aika wished happened far more often.

Warmth radiated from Dean and passed through Aika providing a comfort she had not known for quite some time. His hands still caressed her slightly and everyone now and then he would place a soft warm kiss at the nape of her neck. It wasn't long before Aika entered into the sweet embrace of sleep.

Dean however spent very little time sleeping over the next two hours. He had woken upon before her and decided he would rather cherish the moment at hand rather than worry about the possibility of a global cataclysm. He used the time to memorize every curve, every bump, and every beautiful imperfection on Aika's body. Her skin was much softer than he had imagined, and her hair was very silky and smooth, although she was quite the warrior it appeared that she still liked to take care of herself.

He set his hand once again across her stomach, letting it rise and fall in the slow steady pace of her breathing. He traced the lines around her stomach slowing circling inward and settling in her navel. This generated a soft sigh from Aika.

"Keep going that feels good." She said.

Dean made a sound like a whispered laughed and let his hand continue its small voyage. As it did so he began to pepper the back of her neck and shoulders with small kisses. Aika could only giggle in response. Enjoying the sounds she made when tickled, Dean had a hard time stopping.

"Dean you're going to make it hard for me to get any rest if you keep tickling me like that." She said, giggling the entire time.

"When did I say I was going to let you get any rest?" He retorted, now laughing a bit himself.

"How about two hours ago when you said we should get some sleep?"

"I don't know what you're talking about; it's a shame someone didn't get that in writing."

"Fine, but you asked for it." As she said this she turned to face him and in no time at all the two were half wrestling half tickling under the covers.

The battle was brief but no less epic. Several times one would think themselves victorious only to be flipped onto their back and falling victim to the vicious strikes of the other's fingertips. However, Dean soon found himself to be triumphant and once again found himself positioned above Aika, this time in a less aroused manner. The two held eye contact for several moments.

"Moons you're beautiful." He said as he ran his fingers through her hair.

She smiled. "You're not too bad looking yourself." She stretched her arms out behind his neck letting her wrists cross over one another allowing her to pull him closer. She left him a long kiss.

"Boy you're good at that. I hope you haven't had too much practice." He said, heavy on the sarcasm.

She laughed. "Only if you count my hand." She replied.

"Well that's no fun; a hand can't kiss you back like I can."

"So you think you're a better kisser than my hand?"

"You think I'm not?"

"Well I don't know, me and my hand haven't been on good terms ever since I burned it on the stove on accident."

"Oh, well I'm very sorry to hear that."

"It's okay, I'm sure he'll get over it, plus I've got you in the meantime."

A light chuckle escaped from Dean. "How does a girl like you manage to stay so unnoticed for so long?"

"I've been asking myself that for a long time. I guess there's just always been someone better looking."

He placed a light kiss on the tip of her nose and another below her right earlobe. "I don't think there's anyone better looking." He whispered.

"Where do you pick up all this shmoozy stuff?" She whispered back.

"I had a lot of time before and after my shifts back in the Armada. I filled up as much of that time reading harlequin romance novels as I possibly could."

Aika let out a short burst of laughter. "And the other guys let you get away with that?"

"Where do you think I got the books from? Admiral Vigoro was a big collector."

Aika wasn't sure whether Dean was still kidding or not but she allowed herself to laugh anyway. Laughter wasn't something she was fortunate to have very often lately.

"So Galcian had tie-dye undies, and Vigoro was a romance novel buff, do any of the other admirals have any interesting secrets?"

"Well you wouldn't know by looking at him, but Admiral Gregorio had an angelic tenor singing voice, and De Loco could cut a rug like nobodies business once you got a few drinks in him."

"And what about Belleza?" She said, getting a bit more serious. "You served under her for a little while too right?"

"As a matter of fact I did. Most men in Armada wanted to work for her, for obvious reasons. But she wasn't just something to look at; she was the first and only Lady Admiral for a reason. She nearly got you guys a couple of times."

"Yeah, but I think she did the right thing in the end. There was another woman who was pretty than me, along with several others."

"Like who? Fina?"

"Do you think she's prettier than me?"

"Well she's certainly attractive, and blondes are nice and all but I've always found that redder is better when it comes to women." He said, again stroking her hair.

She smiled again, one of the many she'd had ever since Dean arrived. "It's really more orange than it is red you know."

"Oh technicalities, can't you just let me compliment you already?"

At that she laughed again. "Thank you." She said as she pulled him into a kiss."

"So then, would you say you're over Vyse now?"

Her smile faded for a moment, her heart beat stumbling. "What do you mean?" She said, trying her best to be coy.

Looking deep into her eyes, he smiled. "You don't have to pretend, I mean it's pretty obvious you've got, or you had feelings for the guy. Heck I practically fell in love with his boyish charms the first time I met him, I don't know how you couldn't love the guy after knowing him your entire life."

Aika's smile returned. "Yeah I sort of had a thing for him I guess. But who needs him when I've got you?" This sentence was ended with a kiss. "Plus your boyish charms are slightly more boyish than his; in a good way of course."

"Well I'm glad to hear that. Maybe I need a cool scar like his too, to accent my facial features."

"It couldn't hurt."

"Actually I think it would hurt a lot." He finished this sentence by mimicking the sound of a snare drum and high hat.

"I walked right into that one."

"That you did."

Dean allowed himself to lie back on her bed again rather than support himself on his elbows as he had been doing. Aika took this opportunity to cling to him once more using his pectorals as pillows. Dean took in a deep breath through his nose; the room was filled with a strange smell that mixed lilac shampoo, rain, and fresh sex. It was overall a pleasant smell.

The two enjoyed their shared warmth for a while longer. The room was tranquil and calm. However the peace was soon disturbed by a very unromantic stomach growl from deep within Aika.

"Maybe some food is in order?" Dean suggested.

"I think I'd like that right about now, that Valuan chef isn't so bad. Of course he's no Emily."

"Well maybe we ought to get out of this bed here and get us some dinner, or lunch, whatever meal is appropriate right now."

Aika let out a sigh. "But that would mean we'd have to get up and get dressed. Sounds like sort of a hassle."

"Heh, yeah but you'll have to get up sometime right? And it's not like I want to see you putting clothes back on anyway."

Dean stood from the bed and found his boxers, quickly slipping them on. Once they were well adjusted he added his pants. He reached for his shirt but stopped before he got it over his head.

"Damn, it's still wet; my pants are pretty damp too. Hey I'm going to run down to my room and get some fresh clothes. I'll meet you down there in a few minutes alright?"

"Okay." She replied. "I'll see you in a few minutes."

Dean left his red haired beauty and began walking the short distance from Aika's bedroom to the crew quarters. Doing this shirtless earned him a few smiles from the female crew members he passed. When he entered the small room that he, Kori, and Foster shared, he found Kori lying on his bed staring up at the ceiling.

"Uh hey, is this a good time? You look pretty busy there." Dean said, shutting the door behind him.

"Oh hey, yeah I'm just sort of bored here. Not much work to do and since Foster's back at the base and you're out doing whatever I'm not left with a lot of options."

"Well what about Kjera? I mean couldn't you two have been in here doing the deed while I was out? I know how much you guys like to." He said as he pulled a fresh shirt over his head.

"Believe me, if I had known you were going to be so long we would have."

"Like that would stop you."

"Where have you been anyway?"

"Oh you know, I've been around doing this and that."

"No, I've been around doing this and that, and if you had been too I think I would have seen you, this ship is big and all but I don't think it's big enough that I could go several hours without seeing you unless one of us was trying not to be seen. You were Aika weren't you?"

Dean remained silent, but couldn't help smiling.

"Ah-ha, I knew it! Dean you scoundrel! And after only a couple days too, I've got to hand it to you that's pretty impressive. So let's hear it bud, details give me some details."

"I'm afraid not."

"Oh come on, we're best buds. This is the sort of thing we talk about."

"Yeah well this wasn't just some kind of one night stand that I could go bragging to all of my friends about. This was something a lot more meaningful."

"Oh Deanie, you and all your "respect for women"."

"Yeah, you should try it sometime."

"Hey are you implying that I don't respect Kjera? Because I do, I respect how attractive she is."

Dean laughed. "I'm not sure that's entirely the same thing."

"Eh tomayto tomawto."

"Anyway, I'm going to go meet her in the mess hall. Care to join us?"

"I don't know, all this shmoozy talk is making me a bit sick."

Dean threw a pillow at a high velocity across the room at Kori. "Ha-ha alright, alright I'll come. Just try to keeping the schmoozing to a minimum."

"What is it with everyone and that word lately? Aika had said it too."

"Oh well the captain had sent around this memo about it before you joined the ship, said it was going to be the word of the month."

"God I hate you sometimes."

Sometime during the duration of their conversation Aika had dressed herself and found her way to the mess hall, which she found was partially full of crew members with little else to do at this point in the voyage. She helped herself to a plateful of food and looked for a spot to enjoy it. At the same time as being hungry, she found she also had a strong desire to tell someone about what had just happened in the past few hours. Normally this was the sort of thing for Fina's ears but of course she wasn't likely going to be able to do that for several more hours so instead needed a back up. She quickly spotted Kjera, who was always good for listening, sitting alone at a table playing with some food and made her way over to her.

"Hey Kjera, mind if I join you?" She said sitting regardless of what the answer was going to be.

"Of course not." The well tanned Ixa'Takan girl replied.

Aika inhaled enough food to keep the growling in her stomach at bay for a while. "So how have you been Kjera?"

"I've been pretty good, yourself?"

"Good, good." Aika wasn't exactly sure how to progress the conversation. Luckily she didn't have to.

"You and Dean, you slept together just now didn't you?"

Aika was a bit shocked that she had been able to pick up on that so easily. "How did you know?"

"An Ixa'ness always knows." She replied with a smile. "So how was it?"

"I don't really have much to compare it to, well almost nothing really, but I think fantastic would be a good word."

"That doesn't surprise me."

"Why do you say that?"

"Dean seems to be very capable with his hands. Usually men who can play instruments and are skilled with weapons can apply that dexterity in the bedroom. Plus I've always gotten the feeling he was pretty well endowed." She said with a wink.

"Ha well I've only seen two full grown men naked in my whole life, including him."

"Oh? And who was the other?"

"Somehow I get the feeling you already know."

Kjera smiled. "So it was the captain? And how might I ask did that happen?"

"It was sort of an accident, I mean I've pretty much lived with the guy for the past twenty or so years of my life, it was bound to happen eventually."

"Well you should consider yourself lucky then, not many women get to see that."

"Ha-ha yeah I guess not. You know Kjera I can't help but notice that for someone who was born and raised in Ixa'Taka, you don't seem to have any trouble with our language like most of the others do."

"Oh here come our boys now." Kjera said pointing behind Aika.

Aika spotted Dean and Kori heading their direction, both with fairly large amounts of food on their plates. As their eyes met Aika couldn't help but smile, a gesture which was returned by her man. Each man took their seat next to their respective woman.

"So what were you two talking about?" Dean asked.

"Probably the same thing you to were talking about." Kjera replied.

The table suddenly fell very quiet. Kori pursed his lips and slowly gazed around the table looking at the other three.

"Awkward…" He said in a falsetto tone before digging into his food. Dean and Aika did the same. Kjera let out a heavy sigh.

"I'll never understand why the people of the east are always so uncomfortable when talking about sex."


End file.
